Flavio Bolsonaro faces investigation as Brazil election tightens
The presidential candidate is being investigated over alleged corruption, money laundering and illicit foreign exchange linked to financing for a film about his father.
Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro is under investigation over alleged corruption, money laundering and illicit foreign exchange linked to financing sought for a film about his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro.
The investigation was authorised in July by Supreme Court Justice Andre Mendonca at the request of federal police. It concerns donations by Daniel Vorcaro, the owner of failed lender Banco Master, to “Dark Horse”, a film starring US actor Jim Caviezel.
The case became public after Chief Justice Edson Fachin ordered proceedings related to the broader Banco Master investigation to be unsealed. Thousands of pages of court records were released, although parts of the investigation into Bolsonaro remain secret.
Bolsonaro said he had “nothing to hide” and insisted the film’s financing was completely legal. He has previously acknowledged seeking Vorcaro’s financial backing while denying wrongdoing and saying his dealings with the banker were private.
The investigation comes as Bolsonaro, Jair Bolsonaro’s eldest son and the leading right-wing challenger to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, remains closely matched with Lula in opinion polls simulating a second-round runoff. The broader Banco Master probe has also raised allegations involving politicians, government officials, central bank officials and Supreme Court justices, but the claims have not been proven.
