Police target governor of northern Brazil state in probe of COVID-19 alleged fraud

SAO PAULO — The governor of Brazil’s Tocantins northern state on Wednesday denied any wrongdoing, hours after the country's federal police carried out search warrants targeting him and other 41 people as part of an investigation into alleged fraud and graft related to COVID-19 funds.

A police statement said that suppliers of pandemic-related services delivered only part of the contract to the state, despite receiving full payment.

Gov. Wanderlei Barbosa is a target of a probe into companies that supplied food kits under a government social assistant program between 2020 and 2021, a police source with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the investigation.

In a statement, Gov. Barbosa said he is innocent and available to collaborate with authorities. He added that he wasn’t responsible for the funds in question, as he was vice governor at the time. He was elected governor in 2022.

In a separate statement, his office said the state government is collaborating with investigators.

“It's in the state government’s interest that these facts are properly clarified,” it said.