South America11 September, 20263 min read
Brazil’s Supreme Court Investigates Flávio Bolsonaro Over Payments From Banker Daniel Vorcaro
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Supreme Court opened a police inquiry into Flávio Bolsonaro for corruption and money laundering. Investigation concerns financing of a film about Jair Bolsonaro involving payments from Banco Master.
37 outlets told this the same way.
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Film Funding Probe
Brazil’s Supreme Court opened an investigation into presidential candidate Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro over alleged payments from disgraced banker Daniel Vorcaro to finance a movie about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.
ABC News reported that the court unsealed documents showing Sen. Bolsonaro is under investigation for receiving 61 million reais ($12 million) from a banker at the center of a corruption scandal to produce a movie titled “The Dark Horse.”
The investigation threatens to undermine Sen. Bolsonaro’s bid for the presidency, with the first round of elections slated for Oct. 4, and ABC News said he is locked in a tight race with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
ABC News also said the allegations first became public in May, and that Sen. Bolsonaro denied wrongdoing while insisting Friday during a campaign event in Manaus that he was seeking private investment for a movie.
The probe is tied to Banco Master, whose total fraud Brazil’s federal police estimate at approximately 12 billion reais ($2.3 billion), and whose assets topped $16 billion before Brazil’s Central Bank shut it down in November.
Court Chaos and Denials
As the Banco Master scandal expands, Brazil’s Supreme Court cancelled a second straight day of deliberations, with Chief Justice Luiz Edson Fachin calling for the court to reconvene on Tuesday instead.
Al Jazeera said the divisions emerged on September 1, when one justice, Andre Mendonca, unsealed federal police documents that appeared to show disgraced banker Daniel Vorcaro seeking advice from another justice, Alexandre de Moraes.
In response to the investigation becoming public, Flávio Bolsonaro told reporters in Manaus that he has “nothing to hide,” insisting the film “is completely legal.”
Al Jazeera reported that Tuesday’s session will involve the full Supreme Court bench, and 10 of the justices will discuss whether the 11th member, de Moraes, should be investigated over the text messages.
ABC News reported that Supreme Court Justice André Mendonca opened the investigation into Sen. Bolsonaro in July at the request of Brazil's federal police, and that Mendonca unsealed the documents at the request of Chief Justice Luiz Edson Fachin.
Elections at Risk
The unsealed documents and court turmoil are unfolding weeks before Brazil’s presidential election, with Anadolu Ajansı saying the revelation comes just three weeks before Brazilians head to the polls on Oct. 4.
Anadolu Ajansı reported that local media said Vorcaro disbursed at least 61 million reais ($12 million) in 2025 toward the film, and that investigators are probing whether funds were deposited into US-based accounts belonging to people close to the Bolsonaro family.
The investigation also intersects with broader political conflict inside the Supreme Court, as Al Jazeera said both Lula and Senator Bolsonaro have called for investigations into the Supreme Court justices.
El Mundo said the campaign entered “unknown territory” with the opening of a corruption probe against ultraright senator Flávio Bolsonaro, and it reported that the high court declassified 25.3 gigabytes of material, including documents, videos, and audio.
El Mundo also reported that Flávio Bolsonaro held a campaign event in Manaus and again denied irregularities, saying the investigation against him is a way to “interfere in the elections.”