Brazil Orders Bolsonaro's Passports Seized as He Leaves

Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Senator Flávio Bolsonaro to surrender his passports, and Federal Police cancelled them after the deadline passed without their delivery. Reports then said he had left Brazil for the United States, though officials had no formal record of his departure and his location remained unconfirmed.

The state’s order, the uncertain departure

Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court ordered Bolsonaro on Monday to turn over regular and diplomatic passports within 24 hours as part of a sealed inquiry into suspected money laundering and currency evasion. The diplomatic documents had already been cancelled. After the deadline passed, Federal Police cancelled both regular and diplomatic passports.

A police source told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that “Flávio Bolsonaro’s passports have been cancelled” and that “there is no formal record of Flavio Bolsonaro leaving the country.” Bolsonaro said the order rested on comments by his U.S.-based brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, who had told a U.S. podcast two days before the election: “if my brother does not win, I am in favour that he would leave the country.”

Reuters confirmed Bolsonaro was heading to the United States, citing sources close to his family. The New York Times, CNN, Folha de S.Paulo and Metrópoles also reported that he had left Brazil, citing unnamed U.S. officials or family sources. His arrival, exact location and any asylum request had not been officially confirmed.

A senior U.S. State Department official said the Trump administration would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family, but did not say whether they had entered the United States or whether Bolsonaro had sought asylum. His wife and two daughters were reportedly travelling with him; his daughters reportedly missed school in Brasília on Tuesday.

Election defeat and investigations

The reports followed the October 25 presidential runoff, which Bolsonaro lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by more than 4.4 million votes. Bolsonaro initially refused to acknowledge the result and said he would seek its annulment. His party accepted the result on Monday, and no evidence had emerged that the vote was marred by malfeasance. Critics pointed to a last-minute extension of polling hours, which reporting said was unlikely to change Lula’s commanding victory.

The sealed inquiry into suspected money laundering and currency evasion is one of several investigations involving Bolsonaro. In the case known as Dark Horse, Daniel Vorcaro, former owner of Banco Master, was suspected of transferring around 61 million reais at the senator’s request to finance a biographical film about his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro. Vorcaro was in prison. Federal Police were investigating suspected money laundering, tax evasion, corruption and other possible offenses. The allegations had not been proven, no charge against Flávio Bolsonaro was known, and his allies called the case political persecution.

Justice Flávio Dino also ordered an inquiry into alleged foreign funding of Bolsonaro’s election campaign and other foreign interference, including social media “manipulation.” Dino ordered an inquiry into “the possible origin, circulation and destination of foreign resources” during the campaign and “deliberate asymmetries and algorithmic manipulation by internet companies aimed at favoring or harming candidacies in Brazil’s electoral process.”

A possible route, still unconfirmed

Reports said Bolsonaro might have crossed into Argentina’s Misiones Province using his national identity card before boarding a private jet in Puerto Iguazú. Infobae reported that a Gulfstream G400 operated by Argentine company Baires Fly SA was scheduled to depart at 2am local time on Tuesday. The aircraft’s departure and Bolsonaro’s alleged crossing remained unconfirmed. Argentina’s National Security Ministry, migration authorities and National Migration Directorate said they had no record of his entry, and Argentina’s presidential spokesperson Adrián Ravier said there had been no asylum request in Argentina.

Lula called the reported actions shameful, saying, “This is what the Bolsonaro family is like. Brazil is their second nation, the US is their first.” Donald Trump cast doubt on the election result, telling reporters it “looked like another rigged election.”