SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s federal police raided the home of the governor of the state of Tocantins on Wednesday morning as part of an investigation into fraud and bribery related to COVID-19 funds, police said in a statement. Another 41 people in the state were also targeted.
Suppliers of pandemic-related services only delivered part of the contract to the state despite receiving full payment, the statement said.
The governor, Wanderlei Barbosa, is the target of an investigation into companies that provided food parcels to social services between 2020 and 2021, a law enforcement 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.
Tocantins is located in northern Brazil and includes a small portion of the Amazon rainforest. Governor Barbosa, elected in 2022, previously served as vice-governor from 2019 to 2022.
Barbosa did not immediately respond to an AP request for comment.
