Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the leading right-wing challenger to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in October's presidential election, is under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering, according to court documents unsealed Friday.
The probe was opened in July by Supreme Court Justice Andre Mendonca at the request of federal police as part of a broader investigation into the failed lender Banco Master. The investigation concerns possible crimes "in the context of financing the production" of a forthcoming film about Bolsonaro's father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, according to the court document.
The film, titled "Dark Horse" and starring American actor Jim Caviezel as the elder Bolsonaro, has come under scrutiny as part of an expanding corruption scandal. Brazilian police conducted dozens of raids Thursday into alleged embezzlement of public funds by the company that produced the biopic.
Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of the former president, responded to the revelations on Friday following a campaign event in Manaus in Brazil's north. "I have nothing to hide, the film is totally legal," he said, defending the "private sponsorship" of the production. He acknowledged in May that he had requested substantial wire transfers for "Dark Horse."
The investigation's disclosure comes roughly three weeks before the October election. Multiple opinion polls show Flavio Bolsonaro and Lula statistically tied in simulated second-round runoff scenarios, indicating a competitive race between the right-wing challenger and the leftist incumbent.
The timing of the unsealed court documents adds to turbulence already affecting Brazil's electoral campaign. The country's Supreme Court has been roiled by an unprecedented crisis, with the Banco Master scandal deepening institutional tensions.
Justice Mendonca, who authorized the investigation, has recently been praised as a hero by many on Brazil's right, including Flavio Bolsonaro himself, despite now presiding over the probe into the senator.