BRASILIA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Brazilian SenatorFlavio Bolsonaro, the leading right-wing challenger to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in next month's election, is under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering tied to failed lender Banco Master, according to court documents unsealed on Friday.
The probe into the senator, the eldest son of former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, was opened in July by Supreme Court Justice Andre Mendonca, a Bolsonaro appointee who has recently been hailed as a hero by many on Brazil's right, including Flavio Bolsonaro himself.
The development could further shake an already volatile presidential race, with multiple opinion polls showing Flavio Bolsonaro and Lula statistically tied in a simulated second-round runoff.
The judge opened the probe at the request of federal police as part of a broader investigation into the failed bank. But details of the investigation only became public afterChief Justice Edson Fachin ordered the proceedings related to the Banco Master case unsealed late on Thursday.
Mendonca complied with Fachin's request, releasing thousands of pages of court records.
Further details and the broader implications of the newly unsealed documents were not immediately clear, as parts of the case, including details of the investigation into Senator Bolsonaro, remained under secrecy as police actively investigate.
Brazil's institutions have been shaken by the fallout from the expanding probe and alleged ties between banker Daniel Vorcaro and central bank officials, senior government members, opposition politicians and Supreme Court justices.
PROBE STEMS FROM FILM FINANCING
The investigation into Flavio Bolsonaro stems from questions over an investment he allegedly solicited fromVorcaro, owner of Banco Master, to help finance "Dark Horse," a film about his father that stars U.S. actor Jim Caviezel.
Questions about the film's financing emerged in May, prompting the senator to acknowledge seeking financial backing fromVorcaro, while denying wrongdoing. The disclosures cost him support in opinion polls at the time.
The unsealed documents show the federal police then requested an investigation, authorized by JusticeMendonca, to examine whether Senator Bolsonaro committed money laundering, illicit foreign exchange and corruption.
The unsealed police report confirms much of a report by news website The Intercept Brasil from May that first detailed communications between the senator andVorcaro up until the banker's first arrest in November 2025.
"Brother, I am and always will be with you," Bolsonaro told the disgraced banker in an audio message at the time, according to the report.
Police said data extracted from Vorcaro's cellphone showed he transferred about $12 million in 2025 to a U.S.-based fund linked to former lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, the senator's brother, who now lives in Texas, as part of efforts to finance the film.
One screenshot included in the documents suggests Eduardo Bolsonaro advised Vorcaro's team on the management of the funds in the United States.
Investigators are seeking to determine the origin of the money, the companies used to channel it, and its ultimate beneficiaries.
Flavio Bolsonaro did not immediately reply to a request for comment. But he and his brother have always denied wrongdoing.
SUPREME COURT CRISIS
The new developments intensify a crisis rattling Brazil as voters head into an unusually tight election campaign in which any major development could tip the balance in favor of either left-wing Lula orBolsonaro.
Fachin hassought to resolve a public clash between justices Mendonca and Alexandre de Moraes, who has also been mentioned in the Banco Master probe,that thrust the court into one of its most severe internal crises in decades.
Mendonca made public documents from the investigation earlier this month, including dozens of messages that police say Vorcaro sent toMoraes. The disclosures prompted calls for an unprecedented investigation into a sitting Supreme Court justice over allegations that Moraes acted as an adviser to the banker.
Moraes, in response, accused Mendonca of abusing his authority.
Fachin scheduled a full-court session for Tuesday, when the court's 10-member bench is expected to discuss allegations regardingMoraes' relationship with Vorcaro.
'DISCLOSE EVERYTHING,' SAYS LULA
Senator Bolsonaro's supporters have attempted to link Lula to Moraes, who pursued former PresidentBolsonaro over a 2023 coup plot and secured his conviction last year.
During Independence Day rallies in Sao Paulo on Monday, a giant inflatable balloon depictingMendonca towered over crowds gathered to supportBolsonaro's campaign.
Seeking to distance himself from the crisis at the court, Lula publicly supported unsealing the investigation hours beforeFachin's decision.
"Whenever there is an allegation involving the judiciary or politics, it should be made public so everyone knows what is happening," he said in an interview with SBT TV on Thursday. "Investigate everything, disclose everything, regardless of who it hurts."
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia, Luciana Magalhaes in Sao Paulo; Writing by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Alex Richardson, Rod Nickel and Aurora Ellis)
