Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) is barred from leaving Brazil, and the Federal Police (PF) is now checking whether he crossed into Argentina anyway. Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes cancelled every passport issued in his name, including the diplomatic one. As of 10am on Tuesday (27), the senator had not yet handed the documents over to the PF.
The probe began after an Argentine news site reported that the senator had crossed the border with his national identity card and boarded a private jet bound for the United States. According to the PF, there is no record of him passing through any regular immigration checkpoint. The Argentine report has not been confirmed by any independent source.
Court order voids passports and bars contact with Willer Tomaz
Moraes ordered the senator to hand over his ordinary and diplomatic passports to the PF within 24 hours, and also any passport from another country. The PF served the notice on the morning of Monday (26). The decision also forbids him from contacting lawyer Willer Tomaz, a friend of the senator who is under investigation for suspected money laundering. According to the ruling, the contact is banned “by any means, directly or through another person.” The judge also requires the PF to place a migration alert in the SONAR system and asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be notified.
Senator says he will comply and points to his brother’s remarks
In a video posted on social media, Flávio Bolsonaro said he had been ordered to hand over his passports and was barred from leaving the country. He said he would comply and denied any intention to leave. “I never thought about leaving the country,” he said. He linked the measure to remarks by his brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a former federal deputy whose mandate was revoked, who had said the senator should leave Brazil if he lost the election.
Date of the order is disputed and aides deny any departure
Flávio Bolsonaro said the order was signed on Sunday (25), but other reports treat the notice as delivered on Monday (26). Rogério Marinho (PL-RN), a senator and coordinator-general of Flávio’s presidential campaign, denied that the senator had left the country. Marinho told a journalist, “He did not leave.” Reports also say that two allies claimed the senator had left Brazil, and the accounts remain contradictory.
Learn more: Moraes lifts 90-day suspension on Flávio Bolsonaro visiting his father
Key moments from Eduardo Bolsonaro’s remarks to the PF border check
- 23 October 2026: Eduardo Bolsonaro says Flávio should leave the country if he loses the election
- 25 October 2026: Flávio Bolsonaro loses the presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT)
- 26 October 2026, morning: PF serves Flávio notice to hand over his passports within 24 hours
- 26 October 2026, 22:14: Alleged private plane leaves Buenos Aires, according to the Argentine report, without confirmation
- 26 October 2026, 23:45: Alleged landing in Puerto Iguazú, according to the same account
- 27 October 2026, 10am: Flávio has still not handed over his passports to the PF
Money laundering inquiry cites R$ 130 million and a separate film case
Flávio Bolsonaro is under investigation at the STF, under Moraes’s supervision, over suspected money laundering involving betting companies and payment platforms linked to Willer Tomaz. The investigation points to R$ 130 million moved through an account of companies tied to the lawyer between March and May 2025. The senator is also the target of a second STF inquiry, under Justice André Mendonça, into the financing of the film Dark Horse. The PF found emails suggesting Flávio was registered as a “master user” of an account at a company linked to Tomaz, but the senator’s office denies the existence of any joint bank account.
What the order requires from the senator and who is affected
The measure covers his ordinary passport, his diplomatic passport and any passport from another country he holds. The 24-hour deadline is set out in article 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which requires that a travel ban be communicated to the authorities that monitor exits from the country. Under the ruling, the senator must give the documents to the PF, may not leave Brazil and may not contact Willer Tomaz. The case is being processed under seal, and the decision was made public by the senator himself.
See also: Brazil 2026 presidential runoff places Flávio Bolsonaro at 50.02% and Lula at 49.98% in TSE count
Police cite Alexandre Ramagem case as a precedent
The PF points to the case of Alexandre Ramagem, an ally of Flávio whose federal mandate was revoked. Ramagem left the country through the border with Guyana on the eve of being convicted by the STF for an attempted coup. Seizing passports is a common PF measure to prevent investigated people from leaving the country.
No official confirmation yet on the senator’s whereabouts
No official body has confirmed that Flávio Bolsonaro crossed the border, boarded a plane or reached another country. The PF is checking with Argentine authorities whether he entered that country, and it says it does not rule out a crossing without immigration control. On Tuesday (27), Fabián Fernández, spokesperson for Argentine President Javier Milei, told the press that the senator never entered Argentina and that no aircraft matching the reported description took off for the United States. The senator’s office had not commented, and his current whereabouts have not been disclosed.
