Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, a candidate for Brazil's presidency, has again avoided detailing his conversations with former banker Daniel Vorcaro about financing for the film "Dark Horse," a biography of former president Jair Bolsonaro, according to a report published Tuesday by newspaper Folha de S.Paulo. Asked by the paper on Monday why he never released the film's contract with the former owner of Banco Master, as he had promised in May, the senator responded with irritation: "Are you going to keep stuck in the past? Do you want to keep insisting on a private fund relationship that has no public counterpart at all?" he said, according to the report.
The case surfaced in May, when conversations between Flávio and Vorcaro became public showing the senator pressing the banker to pay the 134 million reais (about $25 million) he had promised for producing "Dark Horse." On the day of Vorcaro's arrest in November 2025, Flávio sent a message of support: "Brother, I am and will always be with you." In the end, according to Folha, 61 million reais were transferred to the project. Shortly after the messages leaked, the presidential candidate publicly said he was "100% willing" to release the film contract, but the document has not been produced.
Two separate probes at the Supreme Court
The episode has triggered two distinct investigations at Brazil's Supreme Court, according to a report by newspaper O Globo published the same day. The first, overseen by Justice André Mendonça, is an offshoot of the inquiry into fraud at Banco Master, which Brazilian authorities estimate cost society at least 60 billion reais. The inquiry was opened in July at the request of the Federal Police, with the backing of the Prosecutor General's Office, to investigate suspected currency evasion, money laundering and corruption in Vorcaro's transfers to the film's production company, made through a fund based in the United States. According to O Globo, the investigation also seeks to determine whether the funds covered expenses abroad for former congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in the United States.
A second line of investigation, led by Justice Flávio Dino, examines the possible misuse of 2.6 million reais in parliamentary earmarks that allies of Jair Bolsonaro directed in 2024 to a nonprofit run by a partner in the film's production company. According to O Globo, congressmen Mário Frias, Bia Kicis and Marcos Pollon maintain the earmarks funded unrelated cultural projects. On Monday, Dino authorized the Federal Police to access evidence gathered by São Paulo's state police on production company Go Up Entertainment, as part of an investigation into alleged bidding fraud and commingled assets between the nonprofit and the production firm.
Folha's editorial argues the core problem is not the private financing itself, but that the fund used to bankroll the film belongs to a network that the paper describes as having run the country's largest financial fraud, with ties reaching officials across all three branches of government at both federal and state levels, raising strong indications of influence peddling and corruption. The paper contends the press has a duty to scrutinize those in power and that public officials are obligated to clarify their involvement in a criminal case of this scale.
Contacted by Folha, Flávio Bolsonaro's campaign had not produced the promised contract or offered further details about the relationship with Vorcaro by the time the report was published. The senator remains one of the leading presidential contenders in polling for Brazil's 2026 election, running against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and other candidates.