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Brazil's Federal Police told Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes that there were "concrete and current" grounds to fear Flávio Bolsonaro would leave the country, according to G1. The force made the assessment in a request to seize the passport of the presidential candidate defeated in Sunday's election and to bar him from traveling abroad. The deadline Moraes set for Flávio Bolsonaro to hand over the document expired at 11 a.m. on Tuesday (27), and he did not surrender it, G1 reports.
Why it matters
The request places a former senator and recent presidential contender at the center of an active criminal investigation at the moment he is challenging the outcome of the vote. It also links his case to a broader inquiry into money that prosecutors suspect may have financed his brother's long-term stay in the United States. The Federal Police are now examining whether Flávio Bolsonaro left Brazil despite the court order, a line of inquiry first reported by journalist Andreia Sadi's blog on g1.
Three factors behind the warning
According to G1, investigators gave three main reasons for believing Flávio Bolsonaro could depart while claiming political persecution.
The first was a public statement by his brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a former congressman whose mandate was revoked, urging him to leave Brazil if he lost the race. The request recalled that Eduardo had recently been convicted of coercing a party in a legal proceeding.
The second was significant financial means. The third was the existence of structures already in place abroad that could support a prolonged stay.
Investigators said Eduardo's remarks could not be weighed on their own. They noted that Willer Tomaz, who is under investigation alongside Flávio Bolsonaro in a money-laundering inquiry, has been in Miami since August 2026 after being targeted by Operation Sem Desconto. The Federal Police said Tomaz has enough money to remain abroad indefinitely if he chooses, and that Eduardo Bolsonaro keeps a long-term support structure in the United States.
Questions over Vorcaro funds
The request also raised an unresolved question about money sent to the United States by former banker Daniel Vorcaro through the money changer Antônio Freixo, known as Mineiro. G1 reports that investigators have not ruled out that some of those funds went toward covering Eduardo Bolsonaro's stay on American soil.
Freixo made seven transfers to the film Dark Horse through the Havengate fund, which is controlled by Paulo Calixto, Eduardo Bolsonaro's lawyer in the United States. Freixo signed a plea bargain agreement ratified by Justice André Mendonça in September and must cooperate with investigators to qualify for benefits if convicted.
The passport decision sits within a case examining Flávio Bolsonaro's ties to lawyer Willer Tomaz, in an alleged scheme involving Tomaz's companies and sports betting. That case remains under seal. Flávio Bolsonaro is also formally under investigation in a separate inquiry into possible crimes connected to financing the production of a film about former president Jair Bolsonaro.
What to watch
The Federal Police are continuing to establish whether Flávio Bolsonaro has already left Brazil, and the answer will shape the next steps before the Supreme Court.
