Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro to hand over his passports and stay in Brazil, a day after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beat him in the presidential runoff.
Flávio said federal police told him of the order Monday. The ruling is confidential, but it gives him 24 hours to hand over every passport he holds to the police, including his diplomatic one. It also forbids him to contact attorney Willer Tomaz. No account of the order mentions an arrest warrant for the senator.
The order stems from a money-laundering and illegal currency investigation of both men. The case touches online betting companies, and federal police spotted a possible tie between Flávio and an account held by a Tomaz company. He denies any tie. A separate inquiry examines whether corruption or money laundering tainted funding for “Dark Horse,” a film about his father. He denies wrongdoing and has not been convicted in either case.
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Flávio says the order grew out of remarks by his brother Eduardo, who suggested before the vote that Flávio leave Brazil if he lost. He says he never planned to go. “I never considered leaving the country,” he said. In a video, he said he will comply and contest the order, which he called “a clear attempt to intimidate me”. The Supreme Court and federal police did not immediately comment.
Moraes issued a warrant this month for Eduardo, who lives in Texas. The Supreme Court convicted him in June of lobbying Washington to interfere in their father’s coup trial, and Moraes ordered a four-year sentence and told police to arrest him if he returns to Brazil. Moraes wrote that Eduardo “cannot benefit from his own wrongdoing” after leaving the country. Their father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving house arrest for plotting a coup.
Flávio has not conceded. Lula won 51.79% of valid votes to his 48.21%, and the senator has called for the election to be annulled, citing the Supreme Court’s two-hour extension of voting at some stations. He plans a court challenge over what he calls the misuse of state resources and political power. Lula starts his fourth term on January 5, 2027.
Read: Bolsonaro Rejects Brazil Runoff Result as Lula Prepares for Fourth Term
