Trump shelters Flávio Bolsonaro, risking tensions with Brazil
Decision to take in Flávio Bolsonaro will affect bilateral relations; Lula said to be looking to the Trump administration’s next moves before assessing the effect on relations between the two countries. Leer más
Brazil's right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who fled to the United States after losing the presidential election to incumbent leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is under investigation for various alleged crimes. Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered him to surrender his passports after the election, and he made his exit from Brazil shortly after.
One prominent investigation involves the unreleased film "Dark Horse," starring American actor Jim Caviezel as Flávio's father Jair Bolsonaro. The Intercept Brasil revealed audio recordings where Flávio Bolsonaro negotiated approximately $24 million to finance the film, implicating him in corruption and possible money laundering.
Flávio denies any knowledge of the financier, Daniel Vorcaro, who is currently jailed over one of Brazil's largest fraud cases. However, Flávio later acknowledged Vorcaro's funding of the film, claiming it was a legal business transaction.
Another probe centers on potential money laundering and illicit fund movement, allegedly orchestrated with Flávio's close friend and lawyer, Willer Tomaz. The case is under judicial seal, but it's believed that Flávio and Tomaz shared a bank account, prompting police to investigate their business relationship. Tomaz is currently under investigation for his role in a major pension fund corruption scandal impacting approximately nine million retirees.
A Supreme Court justice also ordered police to investigate potential foreign funding of Flávio Bolsonaro's election campaign and other foreign interference, such as social media manipulation. Lula's campaign alleged Meta, the US parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, manipulated the election in favor of Flávio. Meta denies any wrongdoing, stating that some of Lula's campaign ads were mistakenly deactivated due to technical errors.
Before entering national politics, Flávio Bolsonaro was accused of accepting part of his aides' salaries as a kickback in Rio de Janeiro. The case was dropped in 2022 after a court dismissed the evidence obtained during the investigation.
Written by urgent.news from Buenos Aires Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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