Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the leading opposition candidate in Brazil’s upcoming presidential election, is under investigation for alleged corruption, money laundering and currency evasion tied to the financing of a film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Documents released by Brazil's Supreme Court on Friday show that the investigation was opened in July 2025. It centres on the financing and production of the film Dark Horse.
Bolsonaro denied any wrongdoing on Friday after a campaign event in Manaus, saying the film was financed legally.
“I have nothing to hide; the film is totally legal,” Bolsonaro told reporters, adding that it relied entirely on “private sponsorship”.
The investigation began after police recovered text messages from the phone of Daniel Vorcaro, the controlling shareholder of Banco Master, who is currently imprisoned over his alleged role in what authorities describe as Brazil's largest financial fraud.
According to police findings included in the court documents, Flavio Bolsonaro asked Vorcaro for donations to finance Dark Horse and pressed the banker to speed up payments to members of the film's production team.
Local media reports say Vorcaro provided at least $12 million in 2025 for the film. Federal investigators are examining whether some of that money was transferred to U.S.-based accounts belonging to people close to the Bolsonaro family.
Police are also investigating whether some of Vorcaro's funds were channelled to Eduardo Bolsonaro, Flavio's brother, who is living in the United States after being convicted of judicial coercion related to legal proceedings involving their father.
Former President Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence over his role in an attempted coup following his defeat in the 2022 election.
The investigation comes just three weeks before Brazilians vote on 4 October to elect a president, state governors and members of Congress.
Brazilian law does not prevent people under police investigation from running for public office.
The election is widely expected to go to a second-round runoff on 25 October, with polls suggesting the result could be decided by a narrow margin.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva maintained the numerical lead over Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, a Datafolha poll showed on Friday (11 September).
Lula is seen with 46 per cent of the vote in a potential runoff, against 44 per cent for the senator, a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, according to Datafolha.
The figures did not change from the previous poll last week.
In a first-round scenario, Lula would lead with 39 per cent of the vote, followed by Bolsonaro (35 per cent), Augusto Cury (6 per cent), and Ronaldo Caiado (4 per cent).
In the previous poll, Lula had 38 per cent, and Flavio Bolsonaro, 33 per cent, in the first round.
If no candidate wins more than 50 per cent of valid votes in the first round, the two frontrunners advance to a runoff, which has happened in every presidential election since 2002.
Datafolha surveyed 2,002 people between 8-10 September, and has a margin of error of two percentage points.
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