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A serious accusation published in an article on Tuesday night (29), involving the Director of Logistics at the Ministry of Health, Roberto Ferreira Dias, promises to shake up the Brazilian political scene in the coming hours. This is because he was accused of charging a bribe of US$1.4T per dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine to close a purchase contract with the manufacturer.
According to the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, the information was obtained by journalist Constança Rezende. She reported that the company Davati Medical Supply approached the Ministry of Health to negotiate 400 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with an initial proposal of US$1.5 million for each.
The meeting with Roberto Ferreira Dias for negotiations took place at a dinner at the Vasto restaurant, in Brasília Shopping, in the central region of the federal capital, on February 25. Luiz Paulo Dominguetti Pereira, a representative of Davati, was present at the event and it was he who, according to Folha, accused Roberto Ferreira of demanding bribes.
According to Dominguetti, Roberto Ferreira demanded a bribe during dinner. “What happened behind the scenes with Roberto Dias was something very dark, very disgusting,” he said, according to the newspaper.
“I said that we had the vaccine, that the company was a strong company, Davati. And then he said: 'Look, to work within the ministry, you have to work with the group'. And I said: 'But how do you work with the group? What kind of work would that be?'” he said.
Following the complaint, leaders of the Pandemic CPI have already spoken out in favor of summoning Dominguetti to the committee, while some opposition-biased media outlets, such as Folha itself, have published headlines accusing the Bolsonaro government of having demanded the bribe. The government leader in the Chamber of Deputies, Ricardo Barros, has already spoken out on social media:
“Regarding the Folha article, I reiterate that Roberto Ferreira Dias was appointed to the Ministry of Health at the beginning of the current presidential administration, in 2019, when he was not aligned with the government. Therefore, I repeat, it is not my nomination. I am completely unaware of Davati’s complaint,” he said.
Fruit of Mandetta's management
Roberto Ferreira Dias, in fact, has been in the logistics department of the Ministry of Health since the beginning of the government, and according to journalist Diego Escosteguy he is a product of the centrão. “He was appointed by the centrão”, he stated, highlighting an article by The Backstage published last February where he makes the following observation:
“Dias was nominated by former congressman Abelardo Lupion, still under the administration of Luiz Henrique Mandetta – both are from the DEM. He was recommended by Ricardo Barros, from the PP, current leader of the government in the Chamber”.
Diego then points out that President Jair Bolsonaro had already responded to suspicions of irregularities involving Dias' name. "The protégé was so well received that he was nominated for a position at Anvisa. However, suspicions of irregularities in a contract signed by Dias during the pandemic forced Bolsonaro to withdraw his nomination to the agency."
According to Dominguetti's complaint, Dias allegedly pointed out the need to meet the interests of a “group”, which, despite not explaining which one it would be or who it would be part of, could allude to the centrão, of which deputy Ricardo Barros is a member.
Precisely, Dias stated that “there was a group, which had to serve a group, that this group operated within the ministry, and that if we did not please this group we would not be able to sell”.
