Supreme Court unseals investigation

The Brazilian Supreme Court released previously classified documents on Friday, 11 September 2026, revealing an active federal investigation into conservative senator and presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro. The probe, authorized in July 2026 by Supreme Court Judge André Mendonça following a request from the Federal Police, focuses on alleged corruption, money laundering, and illegal foreign currency transfers. The unsealing comes 23 days before the 4 October presidential election, in which Flávio Bolsonaro is running as the leading conservative opponent against incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Film financing and Banco Master fraud

Federal investigators are examining the financing behind "Dark Horse", an unreleased biographical documentary about former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for leading an attempted coup. In May 2026, Flávio Bolsonaro admitted to seeking financial contributions for the film from Daniel Vorcaro, the former owner of the insolvent Banco Master. Vorcaro has been detained since November 2025 in connection with what the Supreme Court termed one of the largest financial fraud cases in Brazilian history, a case implicating politicians, central bank officials, and members of the judiciary.

Text messages retrieved from Vorcaro's mobile phone show Flávio Bolsonaro requesting funding and urging prompt payments to settle debts with the production team. Investigators allege Vorcaro disbursed at least 61 million reais (12 million dollars) for the project, with funds routed through United States bank accounts belonging to associates of the Bolsonaro family. Authorities are investigating whether public funds were embezzled and whether portions of the money were redirected to support Eduardo Bolsonaro, Flávio's brother, who resides in the United States and was sentenced in absentia in June 2026 to four years and two months in prison. On Thursday, federal police executed 49 search warrants, targeting individuals including production head Karina Gama and deputy Mario Frias, who is listed as a producer. Both individuals were ordered not to leave Brazil.

Political reactions and institutional conflict

Speaking to reporters on Friday from the city of Manaus, Flávio Bolsonaro denied all allegations of wrongdoing, describing the film financing as entirely private and legal while attributing the timing of the leak to electoral interference.

“I am calm because I have already explained that I did not commit any crime, but it is clear that they want to intervene in the elections. If the decision was from July, why are they only releasing it now when I appear leading all the polls?”

President Lula da Silva supported transparency regarding the case files before the documents were made public.

“I am in favour of disclosing everything.”

The release ordered by Supreme Court President Edson Fachin has triggered internal turmoil within the judiciary. Documents disclosed by Judge Mendonça included police findings regarding communications between Vorcaro and Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes. Moraes, who previously led investigations into Jair Bolsonaro, faced accusations of acting as an adviser to Vorcaro, which he denied while accusing Mendonça of abuse of office. Fachin scheduled an extraordinary plenary meeting of the ten-member Supreme Court panel for 15 September 2026 to determine whether the police report on Moraes may be used.