A judge on the Brazilian Supreme Court has ordered a criminal probe into President Jair Bolsonaro's response to claims of possible corruption in his Health Ministry over a vaccination sale.

The probe is backed up by recent testimony before a Senate committee looking into the government's handling of the Covid-19 outbreak, according to Supreme Court Justice Rosa Weber.

Prosecutors will look into whether Mr. Bolsonaro committed the crime of "prevarication," which involves delaying or refusing to take action that is necessary as part of a public official's job for personal motives.

She did not rule out the prospect of further investigation into any malfeasance.

The investigation comes after the chairman of the Health Ministry's import section, Luis Ricardo Miranda, claimed he was under undue duress when approving the shipment of 20 million vaccinations from Indian pharmaceutical Bharat Biotech.

He said the invoices had inconsistencies, including a $45 million (€38 million) upfront payment to a Singapore-based company.

On June 25, Mr. Miranda and his brother Luis testified before a Senate committee.

They claimed to have expressed their concerns directly to Mr. Bolsonaro, who told them that the discrepancies would be reported to the Federal Police.

According to an Associated Press report, the Federal Police never received a request to investigate.

Onyx Lorenzoni, the presidency's secretary-general, admitted Mr. Bolsonaro met with the Mirandas but said they provided him with forged paperwork. Mr. Bolsonaro, he claimed, has ordered that they be probed.

Bharat has denied any misconduct in vaccination distribution.

Mr. Bolsonaro has rejected any misconduct or knowledge of corruption, telling reporters that he has no awareness of what goes on inside his ministries.

The offense entails a sentence of three months to a year in prison, as well as a fine.