Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (Liberal Party, PL-RJ) received a summons from Brazil’s Federal Police in Brasília on Monday (26) ordering him to hand over his passports. The enforcement action comes one day after the lawmaker lost the October 25, 2026 presidential runoff to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party, PT), who won re-election with 51.79% of the valid votes—64.3 million ballots against 59.8 million (48.21%) cast for the challenger. Flávio Bolsonaro is the target of two separate criminal inquiries before the Supreme Federal Court (STF), the country’s highest judicial body.
The full text of the judicial order authorizing the passport seizure remains under seal. Concerns over a potential departure from Brazilian territory intensified on Friday (23), when disqualified federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) gave an interview in the United States advocating that his brother leave the country if defeated at the polls. “If my brother does not win, I am in favor of my brother leaving the country. For sure. For sure,” Eduardo Bolsonaro said. Prior to confirmation of the police order, federal deputies Duda Salabert (PSOL-MG), Otoni de Paula (PSD-RJ), Rogério Correia (PT-MG), and Erika Hilton (PSOL-SP) petitioned the Office of the Prosecutor General (PGR), which heads federal prosecutions, and the Supreme Federal Court to confiscate the senator’s travel documents. “He is not going to flee the country because this Black man here will not let him,” Otoni de Paula declared.
Betting platform probe with Willer Tomaz and financing of the film Dark Horse
Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes supervises the first investigation, which began with the Federal Police in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Agents are examining suspected money laundering involving online betting companies, payment platforms, and attorney Willer Tomaz. Investigators found records showing that the senator remained registered until at least May 22, 2025, as a privileged “master” user on a bank account belonging to Alcazar Holdings, a company registered in Madeira Island and linked to the lawyer. Both Flávio Bolsonaro and the legal defense for Willer Tomaz deny any wrongdoing, maintaining that they share only a personal friendship without joint financial transactions and describing the court-ordered asset freeze as disproportionate.
Read also: Brazil 2026 presidential runoff places Flávio Bolsonaro at 50.02% and Lula at 49.98% in TSE count
A second investigation at the court, Inquiry 5,070, is overseen by Justice André Mendonça and examines the financing of Dark Horse, a biographical film about the political trajectory of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Federal Police investigators are reviewing text messages and audio recordings concerning alleged payments negotiated by the senator with businessman and former banker Daniel Vorcaro, founder of Banco Master, to trace the origin of the funds and check for potential money laundering. The lawmaker denies any irregularities and states that the negotiated sums were strictly private sponsorship.
Financial figures and deadlines in the Supreme Federal Court investigations
- Judicial asset freeze ceiling: Up to R$ 6 billion in assets and funds blocked against attorney Willer Tomaz on October 23, 2026, accompanied by the lifting of banking, tax, and foreign exchange secrecy and the suspension of corporate operations.
- Transactions under scrutiny: Approximately R$ 130 million recorded in financial operations between March and May 2025 in an investigated bank account tied to the lawyer’s companies.
- Film production transfers: Around US$ 12.3 million in wire transfers through September 2025 identified in police intelligence reports regarding the movie Dark Horse.
- Pending investigative steps: A 90-day extension requested by the Federal Police from Justice André Mendonça to complete financial analyses that depend on international legal cooperation.
Prior departures by allies and cancellation of diplomatic documents
The retention of travel documents follows recent precedents involving individuals close to the Rio de Janeiro senator. In August 2026, Willer Tomaz traveled to the United States during Operation Sem Desconto, a federal probe into fraud at the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), Brazil’s public pension agency. That trip prompted the court to cancel his passports, including a diplomatic passport, in its October ruling. Additionally, in 2025, disqualified federal deputy Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ), a political ally of the senator, exited Brazil across the land border with Guyana on the eve of his conviction by the Supreme Federal Court for an attempted coup d’état.
Keep reading: Brazilian presidential runoff overseas vote puts Flávio Bolsonaro ahead in seven nations and Lula in five
Expiration of Senate immunity in 2027 and Supreme Court jurisdiction rules
Around 11 a.m. on Monday (26), the defeated presidential candidate visited his father, Jair Bolsonaro, in Brasília. The meeting took place after the expiration on October 11, 2026, of a 90-day suspension on family visits imposed by Justice Alexandre de Moraes in July. Flávio Bolsonaro’s term in the Federal Senate concludes in February 2027, which will leave him without an elected office and parliamentary immunity for the first time in 24 years, since he first took office as a state deputy in 2003. Even after he leaves Congress, the inquiries can remain at the Supreme Federal Court: in March 2025, by a 7-to-4 vote, the justices ruled that investigations into offenses allegedly committed during a term in office and related to official duties stay under the high court’s jurisdiction, leaving it to the supervising justices to evaluate how each case fits that standard.
