RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil's Federal Police searched the official residence of Rio de Janeiro Gov. Wilson Witzel on Tuesday, part of an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of public resources in the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Police did not say whether Witzel, a former federal judge, was personally targeted by any of the 12 search and seizure warrants in Rio and Sao Paulo states.
An ongoing investigation pointed to irregularities in contracts awarded for the construction of emergency field hospitals in Rio, and involved health officials, police said in a statement. “There is absolutely no participation on my part in any type of irregularity,” Witzel said in a statement.