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Brazilian Senator and leading opposition candidate in the upcoming presidential election Flavio Bolsonaro is facing allegations of corruption, money laundering and currency smuggling. The allegations concern the financing of "Dark Horse," a film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.
According to documents released by Brazil's Supreme Court on Friday, the investigation began in July 2025. It focuses on the film's financing and production process.
Flavio Bolsonaro denied any wrongdoing on Friday after an election event in Manaus. He said the film was legally financed and produced entirely through private sponsorship.
The investigation began after police obtained text messages from the phone of Daniel Vorcaro, the controlling shareholder of Banco Master, who is currently in custody. Vorcaro was arrested as a suspect in a case described as Brazil's biggest financial fraud.
According to police information included in the court documents, Flavio Bolsonaro asked Vorcaro for a donation to finance "Dark Horse" and sought to accelerate payments to the film's creative team. Local media reported that Vorcaro allocated at least $12 million for the film in 2025.
Federal investigators are examining whether part of the money was transferred to US accounts belonging to people close to the Bolsonaro family. Police are also seeking to determine whether Vorcaro's funds were transferred to Flavio's brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in the United States.
Former President Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence for his role in an attempted coup following his defeat in the 2022 election.
Three weeks before the election
The investigation was disclosed three weeks before Brazilians are due to vote for the president, state governors and members of Congress. Brazilian law does not prevent people under police investigation from running for public office.
The election is expected to conclude with a runoff on Oct. 25. Opinion polls indicate that the result could be decided by a narrow margin.
Poll results
According to a Datafolha poll released on Sept. 11, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva retained a narrow lead over Flavio Bolsonaro in a possible runoff. Lula could receive 46% of the vote, compared with 44% for the senator. The figures were unchanged from the previous poll.
In a first-round scenario, Lula leads with 39%. Flavio Bolsonaro has 35% support, Augusto Cury 6% and Ronaldo Caiado 4%. In the previous poll, Lula had 38% and Flavio Bolsonaro 33%.
If no candidate wins more than 50% of valid votes in the first round, the two candidates receiving the most votes will advance to a runoff. This has occurred in every presidential election held since 2002.
Datafolha conducted the poll among 2,002 people from Sept. 8 to 10. The margin of error is two percentage points.
