Less than a month before the Brazilian presidential election, Flavio Bolsonaro finds himself in the sights of justice. An investigation authorized in July by the Supreme Court and whose secrecy has just been partially lifted concerns the financing of “Dark Horse”, a biopic devoted to his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro.
The 45-year-old senator admits to having requested several million $ from Daniel Vorcaro, boss of Banco Master now imprisoned in the context of a vast financial scandal. Flavio Bolsonaro assures that this private financing was “totally legal” and claims to have “nothing to hide”. However, investigators are seeking to determine whether part of this money would have actually benefited his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, based in the United States.
The investigation notably mentions an international transfer of $12.3 million between a company indirectly linked to Vorcaro and another linked to a lawyer of Eduardo Bolsonaro. Court documents also show that Flavio Bolsonaro met personally with the banker and discussed financing the film with him on several occasions.
The affair comes at the worst time for the conservative candidate, given neck and neck with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the event of a second round on October 25. In a country where corruption remains a major electoral issue, the accumulation of evidence could weigh on the undecided, even if political scientist Mayra Goulart believes that corruption scandals remain historically more damaging for Lula and his Workers’ Party.
