Brazil Supreme Court investigates candidate Flávio Bolsonaro over biopic funding

Supreme Court opens criminal inquiry

The Brazilian Supreme Federal Court has placed senator and presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro under formal criminal investigation for alleged corruption, money laundering, and illegal currency flight. Justice André Mendonça authorized the sealed inquiry on 22 July 2026 following a formal request from the Federal Police and an endorsement by the Prosecutor General's Office. The existence of the proceedings became public on 11 September 2026 after Supreme Court President Edson Fachin partially lifted secrecy on the broader Banco Master case. The investigation targets the candidate weeks before the first round of the presidential election on 4 October 2026, where he runs as the main right-wing challenger to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Financial ties to Banco Master

The inquiry focuses on negotiations between Flávio Bolsonaro and Daniel Vorcaro, the owner of the collapsed Banco Master who is currently detained in a 12 billion reais banking fraud case. The Intercept Brasil revealed on 13 May 2026 that Flávio sought 24 million dollars, equal to roughly 134 million reais, from Vorcaro to finance Dark Horse, an upcoming biographical film depicting the political rise of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Federal Police records state that Flávio was a direct interlocutor with Vorcaro throughout 2025 and continued contacts even after Vorcaro's initial arrest on 17 November 2025, meeting him while the banker was under house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor. Documents seized by federal authorities show Vorcaro transferred at least 60 million reais to fund production entities through international accounts.

Suspected diversion of production funds

Investigators suspect that a portion of the funds raised for the cinematic project was diverted to support Flávio's brother, former federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has lived in the United States since February 2025. Eduardo was previously convicted in Brazil for exerting pressure on the judiciary during Jair Bolsonaro's trial, in which the former president received a 27-year prison sentence for a 2022 coup attempt. According to court records, the US-based fund that received payments from Vorcaro was managed by Eduardo's lawyer, Paulo Calixto. Justice Mendonça also approved a plea bargain with businessman Antonio Carlos Freixo Júnior, known as Mineiro, whose company Entre Investimentos e Participações was identified as the primary financial operator handling transfers from Vorcaro.

Flávio Bolsonaro has denied all criminal allegations regarding the film, previously addressing the funding controversy during a broadcast interview.

The topic is more than clarified, and it is a closed book, re-signified and on the shelf.

Parallel investigation and federal raids

The film Dark Horse, directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and starring American actor Jim Caviezel as Jair Bolsonaro, is also the subject of a second Supreme Court inquiry overseen by Justice Flávio Dino. On 10 September 2026, the Federal Police carried out an operation executing approximately 50 search warrants to investigate whether public money from congressional amendments was unlawfully directed into the movie. The raids targeted federal deputy and executive producer Mário Frias, as well as producer Karina Gama, head of the production company Go Up Entertainment. While the candidate promised in earlier public statements to release a comprehensive accounting of all film expenditures within 30 days, investigators note that no detailed expenditure records for the 60 million reais received have yet been submitted to authorities.