Brazilian presidential candidate Senator Flávio Bolsonaro is under investigation for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion over 61 million reais ($12 million) received from a banker at the centre of a major financial scandal to finance an unreleased film about his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Documents unsealed by Brazil’s Supreme Court late Thursday revealed details of the investigation into the funding of “The Dark Horse”, a proposed film about the former president. Investigators are examining whether the Bolsonaro family misused part of the money and whether the payments were properly declared to Brazilian authorities.
The investigation poses a potentially significant challenge for Flávio Bolsonaro as Brazil heads towards the first round of its presidential election on October 4. The senator has emerged as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s principal challenger, with the two locked in a closely watched contest.
$12 million payment under scrutiny
At the centre of the case is banker Daniel Vorcaro, who was arrested in March and is accused of defrauding clients of Banco Master, including state government pension funds, through questionable investments. The wider scandal has drawn scrutiny to several prominent political and financial figures in Brazil.
Investigators are examining why Vorcaro provided 61 million reais for the film project and how the money was subsequently used. The allegations involving the movie first became public in May.
Flávio Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing, maintaining that the money represented legitimate private investment sought for the film.
Speaking during a campaign event in Manaus on Friday, he welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to make the documents public. “It is very positive that the documents are unsealed,” he said. “I want transparency in everything. I will only confirm what I always said. There's nothing wrong about the movie.”
The film, however, remains unreleased.
Eduardo Bolsonaro named in documents
The investigation also reaches another member of the Bolsonaro family. One of the unsealed documents alleges that Eduardo Bolsonaro, Flávio’s brother who lives in Texas, provided guidance on how money transferred by Vorcaro could be managed in the United States.
Prosecutors suspect some of the funds intended for the film may instead have been used to cover Eduardo Bolsonaro’s expenses and promote Flávio Bolsonaro’s political agenda with the Trump administration, according to the documents.
Eduardo has denied wrongdoing, accusing investigators of attempting to use against his family what he described as the same mechanism previously deployed against Jair Bolsonaro.
The investigation is therefore focused not merely on the source of the movie financing but also on whether the funds were diverted to other purposes and whether transactions involving the money complied with Brazilian financial and tax laws.
Probe lands in middle of election battle
The timing makes the investigation particularly sensitive. Flávio Bolsonaro is campaigning to succeed Lula while carrying the political legacy of his father, who remains an influential figure on Brazil’s right.
Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced by Brazil’s Supreme Court to 27 years in prison following his conviction over an attempted coup after losing the 2022 presidential election.
Flávio has sought to consolidate his father’s political constituency while presenting himself as the principal conservative alternative to Lula.
The investigation into the $12 million payment now threatens to inject allegations surrounding the Bolsonaro family’s finances directly into the presidential campaign weeks before voting begins.
With the Supreme Court documents now public, investigators are expected to continue tracing the movement of the funds, including any transactions involving the United States, as they seek to establish whether the money represented legitimate financing for “The Dark Horse” or was used for purposes beyond the proposed film.