Court Bans Flavio Bolsonaro From Leaving Brazil After Election Loss
Senator Flavio Bolsonaro must surrender his passports and cannot leave Brazil following a Supreme Court ruling issued after his presidential election defeat.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has banned Flavio Bolsonaro from leaving Brazil and ordered the senator to surrender all passports, including his diplomatic passport, within 24 hours. The ruling follows the Sunday runoff election in which incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won with 51.8% of the vote.
The court order relates to a Federal Police of Brazil investigation into a money-laundering scheme involving approximately £680 million and lawyer Willer Tomaz, as well as alleged corruption regarding a biopic about Jair Bolsonaro. However, Flavio Bolsonaro claims the decision was triggered by comments from his brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who suggested the senator should leave the country if defeated. He denounced the order as a "clear attempt to intimidate" him.
While vowing to comply with the order while challenging it legally, Flavio Bolsonaro has refused to concede the election. He abandoned an initial plan to seek the annulment of the vote—which campaign members admitted was likely a strategy to rally supporters—and will instead file a case to disqualify Lula's ticket over alleged abuse of economic power and voting irregularities.
