Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the leading right-wing candidate challenging incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in next month's presidential election, is under investigation for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, according to court documents unsealed on Friday. The probe, opened in July by Supreme Court Justice André Mendonça at the request of federal police, centres on Bolsonaro's financial ties to Daniel Vorcaro, the former head of Banco Master, a now-failed Brazilian lender at the heart of what authorities describe as one of the largest fraud scandals in the country's history.
Vorcaro, arrested in March, stands accused of defrauding approximately 800,000 bank clients — including government pension funds — in a scheme valued at roughly $2.3 billion. Investigators are examining whether Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, received funds from Vorcaro to help finance "Dark Horse," a biographical film portraying his father in a flattering light, starring American actor Jim Caviezel. Police say data extracted from Vorcaro's cellphone shows he transferred around $12 million to a US-based fund linked to Flavio's brother Eduardo Bolsonaro. A screenshot in the court documents also suggests Eduardo, a former Brazilian legislator, advised Vorcaro on managing those US-based funds. Eduardo has denied wrongdoing, saying the transfers were intended to shield the funds from interference by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Flavio Bolsonaro, for his part, says he solicited only private investment for the film and has "nothing to hide." Federal police also carried out searches at the home of right-wing legislator Mário Frias, a close Bolsonaro ally and producer of the film, where seven firearms were found.
The documents came to light after Chief Justice Edson Fachin ordered the broader Banco Master case unsealed, releasing thousands of pages of court records. The disclosure has deepened an already severe internal crisis at Brazil's Supreme Court. Justice Mendonça earlier released documents purporting to show Vorcaro communicating with Justice de Moraes, prompting calls for an unprecedented investigation into a sitting justice. De Moraes has accused Mendonça of abusing his authority, and the court's full ten-member bench is expected to address allegations concerning de Moraes' relationship with the banker at a session scheduled for Tuesday.
The timing could not be more consequential. Brazil's first-round presidential vote is set for October 4, and polls show Flavio Bolsonaro and Lula in a statistical dead heat in a projected run-off, with neither candidate expected to secure an outright majority in the first round. The corruption allegations first surfaced in May, when outlet Intercept Brasil published leaked messages between Flavio and Vorcaro, briefly denting Bolsonaro's poll numbers. Both candidates have now called publicly for full transparency. "Investigate everything and everyone," Bolsonaro said at a campaign event Friday. Lula echoed the sentiment in a television interview the previous day: "Investigate everything, disclose everything, regardless of who it hurts." With key parts of the investigation still sealed, the full political fallout of the widening scandal remains to be seen.