After his electoral defeat, the senator fled to the United States with his family
Originally published in Global Voices in Spanish
Image from Global Voices with Cova Pro. Photo from Brazilian Senate. legitimate use.
40 hours after lose the second round of elections in Brazil to the current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvathe senator representative of Rpio de Janeiro Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of the former Jair Bolsonaro, fled to the United Stateswhere his brother Edward lives, also excongressman, from February 2025. In the United States, Flavio continues challenging the results of the elections that lost by 4.4 million votes, results of which the High Electoral Tribunal, Organization of American States and others Right-wing governments of the region.
On your arrival, Flavio published a letter in which it was proclaimed as "true president of Brazil" and "elected president of Brazil." After 22 minutes - and a U.S. Department of State request- he retracted and said he was the "leader of Brazil."
American President Donald Trump said the Brazilian elections "They seemed fixed."but that"He wouldn't get involved.. "However, The New York Times reported that Flavio was helped by Trump's assistants. "The plane [in which I traveled] was organized by a White House official," the newspaper said.
Flávio's narrative is that he was persecuted by the Brazilian judicial system and the Lula government as opposition leader, because the Supreme Court ordered confiscation His passports - he also has Italian nationality - after his defeat was announced.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes, considered as an adversary of the Bolsonaro family and also under suspicion for having links with the same banker down in misfortune related to Flavio, issued the order in response to a request from the Federal Police that considered Flavio a great risk. In Brazil, a president cannot be investigated for alleged crimes committed before he or she is in office, which means that, once elected, all outstanding investigations concerning Flavio would have been suspended. It is also the first time in 24 years that Flavio will not have a seat that guarantees his parliamentary immunity.
According to the Brazilian Federal Police, three elements indicated a risk of escape in the case of Flavio: on October 23, in an interview his brother Eduardo gave to a podcast in the United States in which I was defending the idea. that Flavio would leave the country, its considerable economic power and well-established structures abroad that would help him in a long stay.
The day after the election, after visiting his father, he is under house arrest for a attempted coup d & apos; état, Flavio recorded a video in which he complained of the measure, he claimed that he "never thought of leaving the country" and promised to stay and respond to the investigations. Apparently, he changed his mind overnight in time for a new plan.
For a long time, investigations and suspicions of corruption have surrounded his name. In 2020, Sergio Moro, the judge who sentenced Lula, resigned as Minister of Justice of Bolsonaro, andaccused the president to try to intervene with the Federal Police to protect Flavio in an embezzlement and money-laundering investigation. At a cabinet meeting, the then president Bolsonaro shouted to his ministers: "I will not wait until they take away my whole family," and he said that he would fire whoever stood in his way.
In his election campaign, Flavio's secrets were exposed in stories published in the Brazilian press. Global Voices brings together the main ones. Currently, Flávio has three investigations in the Supreme Court.
Rachadinha
This is the case that led Jair Bolsonaro toallegedly interfering with the Federal Police in 2020. Flavio was charged by the prosecution of Rio for embezzlement, money laundering and criminal organization. Then the case was left. suspended. Rachadinha (division) is a pay bribe system in which a politician hires someone for a job and then claims part of the salary.
In 2018, after the election of Bolsonaro, a complaint of the Financial Activities Control Council noted atypical financial movements in the account of Flávio's advisor, Fabricio QueirozMan. friend of his father's. Queiroz, to whom recorded when he paid the school fee of the daughters of Flavio with cash, he was identified as the operator. For the prosecution, according to the UOL medium, the system was used to cover Flavio's personal expenses and increase his heritage.
There were also suspicions that the Chocolate shop of a franchise, owned by Flavio, it was used to wash money. The investigation found 1512 cash deposits in repeated quantities between March 2015 and December 2018 at the establishment.
In a audio found by the police in 2024 the then President Jair Bolsonaro, the lawyers of Flavio and Alexandre Ramagem, former director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, currently fugitive who lives in the United States, allegedly discussing a plan to free Flavio from investigations through workers of the Federal Tax Service.
'Dark Horse 'and Vorcaro
On 13 May 2026, The Intercept Brazil published an article and an audio showing the film "Dark Horse, "biographical film about Jair Bolsonaro, with Jim Caviezel, which could have been financed by the banker Daniel Vorcaro, fallen into misfortune. Before the article was published, a media reporter asked Flavio about the case. The Senator and dismissed the question: "That's a lie! Where did you get that?"
Vorcaro is in the middle of one of the biggest scandals in the country, which involves political rights, members of the Supreme Court and other judges andcelebritiesthrough your bank, Master, of which license was approved during the government of Jair Bolsonaro. Vorcaro is investigated for a fraud that caused losses of 47 billion of real (about 8700 million) for the Credit Guarantee Fund, which supports Brazil's banking system.
Messages published in The Intercept show Flavio negotiating with Vorcaro in WhatsApp. Flavio requested 134 million reais ($24.9 million) and received at least 61 million reais ($11.17 million). In one of the last messages, before the arrest of Vorcaro when he tried to flee the country, Flavio says to him, "Brother, I am and will always be with you; there are no half words between us," TIB reported.
Since he could not deny his bond, Flavio has repeated that the money he negotiated with Vorcaro was "private money for a private movie. "
That's it. one of the investigations a Flavio in the Federal Supreme Court, for the operation of money financing. Although the film was filmed in Brazil, Vorcaro sent the money to a fund in the United States (Havengate), managed by a friend of Eduardo Bolsonaro. The final destination of the money has not yet been confirmed.
Willer Thomaz, a friend
There's another investigation a Flavio for money laundering and evasion, along with his friend Willer Tomaz, Brazilian lawyer who also is now in the United States. Tomaz is under investigation for money laundering through betting companies and participation in another scandala fraud to the national pension fund.
Documents to which had access to Brazilian media They showed that only Tomaz moved 5 billion reais (about $930 million) in betting sites and charged 200 million reais ($37.2 million).
When the Piauí magazine revealed that Flavio had traveled on Vorcaro's plane with his family, the first reaction of the senator was to say that "fortunately it was Willer's." His friend revealed the plane's quota plan to Vorcaro's company. Tomaz denied have met with the banker.
In October, O Globe daily published that Flavio was registered as "main user" of a foreign account with the name of a company run by Tomaz and registered in the Madeira Islands, Portugal. That situation gave him "significant operational access," according to the Federal Police. The Piauí magazine He also says that the senator may have been an indirect partner of a São Paulo betting company, but controlled by another company in Madeira, also linked to Tomaz. Flavio denies it.
The Folha de S. Paulo says that the relationship between Flavio and Tomaz began in 2019. During the COVID19 parliamentary research commission at the National Congress, two years later, the senator defended Tomaz, called him "friend." They've always denied being partners, they say they're just friends.
The death of Ana Clara and the militias
On the morning of February 2, 2021, a five-year-old Ana Clara Machado was shot and killed while playing at the entrance of her house in Rio de Janeiro. The Military Police denied any confrontation or the presence of narcos in the area where it was operating. Then the Civilian Police identified Police Bruno Delaroli as the one who shot, and he was arrested. In March 2026, the website ICL Notícias He reported that Flávio Bolsonaro was working on the police defence team in the higher courts, in an attempt to avoid a jury trial. On the other hand, the UOL medium revealed that worked without collection. Lula He questioned the senator. about your reasons during a debate on TV Globo.
Also according to ICLIt's not the only case in which Flavio defended the cops accused of killing. Folha de S. Paulo says his career as a defence lawyer gained momentum after he was elected as a senator.
During his political life, Flavio has had a long history of links with police officers identified as members of the calls militiaparamilitary groups, mostly formed by active and retired police, acting as vigilantes and carrying out organized crime activities in dominated territories. When I was a state deputy in Rio, Flavio in his office to his mother and wife of Adriano da Nobregaex-military police associated with a militia known as Crime Officewhose main activities were to execute ordered deaths. He also sent parliamentary money to an NGO connected to another police involved in the the murder of the councilwoman of Rio Marielle Franco. According to the Piauí magazine, the militia known as Peixe (fish) referred to Flavio as "our senator."
ICL News says that United Nations review Flávio's ties with the militias when investigating the case of Ana Clara.
