Brazil: Flavio Bolsonaro faces corruption probe weeks before election

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the leading right-wing challenger to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is under investigation for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion tied to the financing of a biopic about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, according to newly unsealed court documents.

What do we know about Bolsonaro's corruption probe?

The probe centers on funds Bolsonaro allegedly sought from Daniel Vorcaro, the disgraced banker behind the collapsed Banco Master, to help produce "Dark Horse," an unreleased film starring Jim Caviezel as the elder Bolsonaro. 

Investigators are examining roughly $12 million that flowed from a Vorcaro-linked entity to a fund tied to Eduardo Bolsonaro, the senator's brother and campaign adviser, who lives in Texas. One document alleges Eduardo advised on how the money should be managed once in the United States.

Who is Brazil's Flavio Bolsonaro?

Supreme Court Justice Andre Mendonca, a Bolsonaro appointee, opened the investigation in July at the request of federal police, but the case remained sealed until Chief Justice Luiz Edson Fachin ordered it made public this week, Reuters reported. 

Federal police raided the production company behind the film and the office of congressman Mario Frias, its executive producer, on Thursday. Both have been barred from leaving the country and deny wrongdoing.

How did the Bolsonaros respond?

Flavio Bolsonaro has denied any misconduct, telling reporters at a campaign stop, "It is very positive that the documents are unsealed," the Associated Press reported

"I want transparency in everything."

Eduardo Bolsonaro similarly rejected the allegations, telling Reuters the funds were routed through the US to avoid interference from Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw his father's coup conviction. 

"They want to frame this as bribe money, which it isn't," he said.

On social media, he said investigators “are trying to repeat the mechanism that worked against Jair Bolsonaro.”

What did Lula say?

In a Thursday television interview, Lula said Banco Master "was created in the Bolsonaro administration" and shuttered during his own term. He has called for full transparency in the case regardless of political fallout.

The disclosures come three weeks before Brazil's October 4 election, in which polls show Bolsonaro and Lula roughly tied. 

Political analysts say the timing leaves Bolsonaro less room to recover than when the scandal first surfaced in May, though the fallout could also cut against Lula given the case's ties to Vorcaro's dealings with multiple political and judicial figures. 

A runoff, if needed, is set for October 25.

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