Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, a presidential candidate in Brazil's October election, is among the targets of a Federal Police inquiry at the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Brazil's top court, into the financing of Dark Horse, a film about his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro. The ruling that placed him under investigation was issued on July 22 by Justice André Mendonça. His name became public on Friday (11), after Mendonça partially lifted the seal on the case at the request of the court's president, Justice Edson Fachin. Parts of the case remain secret.
According to G1, the police are investigating suspected money laundering, illegal currency transfers abroad and corruption allegedly involving Flávio in connection with financing arranged with Daniel Vorcaro, owner of the now defunct Banco Master. The office of the prosecutor general was consulted and did not oppose opening the inquiry. Mendonça ordered the case sent to the Federal Police so that investigators could proceed with steps that do not require judicial authorization.
The newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reports that Flávio negotiated directly with Vorcaro a transfer of at least US$ 10 million, about R$ 61 million, to fund the production, a figure first revealed by the news site The Intercept. The senator's press office did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. He has previously denied any wrongdoing and said the film was financed with private money only. Folha also reports that Vorcaro is in prison, under investigation for a billion-dollar fraud against Brazil's financial system.
Parallel inquiries
The financing of Dark Horse is being examined in two separate STF inquiries. The one led by Mendonça looks at the transfers made by Vorcaro: the circumstances, the origin of the money, the exact amount and the final destination of the funds. Investigators suspect part of the money was never spent on the film. The second, under Justice Flávio Dino, examines whether the production company Go Up Entertainment used congressional earmarks, known in Brazil as "emendas parlamentares", to pay for the movie. São Paulo state police are also investigating a contract of more than R$ 150 million between Go Up and the city government to install public wi-fi in outlying neighborhoods, which was not fully delivered.
On that second front, federal police carried out Operation Make Up on Thursday (10), serving 49 search warrants in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Ceará and the Federal District. Among the 29 targets are federal lawmaker Mario Frias and Karina Ferreira da Gama, owner of Go Up and founder of the Instituto Conhecer Brasil, which received R$ 2 million in earmarks designated by the lawmaker. Dino barred the targets from leaving the country and from contacting one another. Frias called the operation a "smoke screen" during the campaign and said he has documents proving his conduct was lawful. "They took my phone, my documents, my computer. Nobody was arrested", he said.
The Federal Police is expected to continue with investigative steps that do not require judicial authorization. The remaining files on the film inquiry stay sealed, and further disclosures depend on Mendonça's decisions on lifting the secrecy. The revelation comes less than a month before the first round of the presidential election.