Rio de Janeiro governor Wilson Witzel speaks to the media at Laranjeiras Palace, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 28, 2020.PILAR OLIVARES/Reuters
A Brazilian court has temporarily removed Rio de Janeiro’s governor from office owing to corruption charges as authorities on Friday said they were carrying out scores of raids and more than a dozen arrests in the case.
Brazil’s main prosecutor’s office said Friday that Wilson Witzel, a former federal judge, was removed from office for 180 days while being investigated.
The agency also said it was raiding his official office and residence, as well as the residence of the vice-governor, who by law would succeed him while he is suspended. In all, it said there were 72 search and seizure warrants in six states, the federal district and Uruguay, as well as 17 arrest warrants.
The order by the Superior Court of Justice, Brazil’s second-highest court, can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Mr. Witzel held a news conference to insist on his innocence, calling his suspension “an outrage to democracy” and the searches of his home and office a “circus.” He said he would appeal.
Mr. Witzel claimed the prosecutor leading the case has ties to the family of President Jair Bolsonaro, a former ally with whom he has broken politically.
Investigators accuse Mr. Witzel of participating in a scheme involving fraud in public contracts to benefit companies linked to him and others under investigation.
Investigators suspect one of the illegal financial operations involved a social organization hired by the state government to manage field hospitals for treating COVID-19 patients.
Prosecutors also accused Mr. Witzel of benefiting from payments to his wife made by two other people under investigation.
Mr. Witzel was unknown to most Brazilians until the 2018 elections, when he won the state governor’s race by closely associating himself with Mr. Bolsonaro’s successful presidential campaign and by promising to be tough on organized crime. He was frequently criticized by human-rights watch organizations for defending controversial police operations, such as the practice of shooting from helicopters against suspects in Rio’s slums.
He and Mr. Bolsonaro, however, eventually split and became political enemies.
Mr. Witzel was already facing impeachment procedures in the state legislature, although that action had been temporarily suspended by an appeal to Brazil’s Supreme Court.
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