Flavio Bolsonaro faces corruption probe weeks before Brazil election

What the report says

Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro is now the subject of a corruption investigation that emerged as Brazil’s Supreme Court began unsealing records tied to the Banco Master scandal, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. The case became public after court documents showed that Justice Andre Mendonca opened the probe in July at the request of federal police.

Investigators are examining whether Bolsonaro had improper dealings with Daniel Vorcaro, the former head of Banco Master, a failed lender at the center of a major fraud case in Brazil. The inquiry reportedly covers possible corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. Police are also trying to determine the source and destination of funds linked to transfers associated with Flavio Bolsonaro’s brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, and a US-based fund. Al Jazeera reported that the transfers were described as being connected to financing for a film about former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Vorcaro was arrested in March and accused of helping engineer one of the country’s largest financial frauds, with federal police estimating losses at about $2.3bn and nearly 800,000 bank clients affected. The investigation has also drawn attention to Brazil’s judiciary, where justices have disagreed over how the Banco Master files were handled.

The probe comes weeks before Brazil’s October 4 presidential election, in which Flavio Bolsonaro is challenging President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Both politicians have called for transparency, while Flavio Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing.