Brazil's leading right-wing presidential contender Flávio Bolsonaro has been caught on tape soliciting $26.8 million (R$134 million) from a banker at the centre of the country's largest alleged banking fraud to fund a biographical film about his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro. The leaked voice recordings and text messages, published by investigative outlet The Intercept Brasil, show the senator — known in Brazil as "filho 01," or eldest son — pressing Daniel Vorcaro, now in pre-trial detention, for payment to cover production costs for a film titled Dark Horse, in which American actor Jim Caviezel, known for portraying Jesus in Mel Gibson's 2004 film The Passion of the Christ, was cast to play the elder Bolsonaro. The film was scripted and produced by Mário Frias, a former culture secretary in Jair Bolsonaro's government, and had been timed for release on 11 September — weeks before October's presidential election.
In one audio message, Flávio Bolsonaro urges Vorcaro: "Imagine us defaulting on someone like Jim Caviezel, or Cyrus [Nowrasteh, the film's director] … It would be very bad." The messages were sent after multiple allegations against Vorcaro had already entered the public domain, a timeline that analysts say undermines the senator's claim that this was an innocent private sponsorship arrangement. Vorcaro is accused of defrauding approximately 800,000 clients of the small private Master Bank by offering returns far above market rates, allegedly covering losses by paying millions in bribes to politicians and officials. He denies all allegations and awaits trial. Flávio initially denied any contact with the banker, then reversed course and acknowledged the exchange, describing it as "a son seeking private sponsorship for a private film about his father's story."
The financial flows surrounding the film have drawn additional scrutiny. Documents cited by Brazilian newspaper O Globo suggest at least $12 million was actually transferred, routed partly through a Brazilian holding company to a Texas-based fund called Havengate Development Fund LP, which investigators say is controlled by associates of Eduardo Bolsonaro — Flávio's brother, who has been living in Arlington, Texas, since leaving Brazil. Investigators are now examining whether the film served as a front for misappropriation of funds, including possibly financing Eduardo Bolsonaro's living expenses abroad. The $26.8 million budget dwarfs those of Brazil's two most internationally celebrated recent films: I'm Still Here, which won the 2025 Oscar for best international feature on a budget of $8.9 million, and The Secret Agent, nominated for best picture in 2026 at just $5.6 million.
The scandal has delivered what political analysts describe as the most damaging blow yet to Flávio's campaign, which had drawn level in polls with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. "The blow to Flávio's campaign is brutal — by far the worst news for his campaign so far," said sociologist Celso Rocha de Barros, warning that the senator's anti-establishment credibility could rapidly erode. The backlash extended within the right itself: Romeu Zema, the governor of Minas Gerais state and a rival presidential hopeful, called the recordings "a slap in the face to decent Brazilians," while a conservative congressman suggested replacing Flávio on the ticket with Jair Bolsonaro's wife, Michelle. Jair Bolsonaro himself remains under house arrest following a conviction related to an alleged coup attempt after his 2022 electoral defeat.
The affair has also widened to engulf other Bolsonaro allies. Senator Ciro Nogueira, once considered a frontrunner for the vice-presidential slot on Flávio's ticket, is separately accused by federal police of receiving monthly payments of up to R$500,000 from Vorcaro in exchange for using his legislative influence on the banker's behalf — including allegedly submitting a draft bill, written by Master Bank's own legal team, to expand deposit insurance coverage. Nogueira denies the allegations. On social media, the hashtag "Bolsomaster" trended widely, with monitoring data showing nearly 8.6 million interactions across platforms in two days, as progressive parties and left-wing accounts outpaced the right in volume and engagement, capitalising on Flávio's contradictory statements to frame the episode as emblematic of deeper corruption within his political circle.