Senator Flávio Bolsonaro arrived in the United States on October 28, even though he is barred from leaving Brazil in a case over suspected money laundering through betting companies. He left the country after losing the second round of the presidential election on October 25 to the incumbent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Investigators are looking at a scheme worth about $905 million. After the vote, federal police asked the Supreme Federal Court (STF) to seize the senator's passports, citing fears he might flee. Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered him to hand over his civilian and diplomatic passports and banned him from leaving the country. By 11:00 on Tuesday the senator had not surrendered the documents, and police cancelled them.
According to the investigation, Bolsonaro secretly owned a betting business together with lawyer Willer Tomaz, who is also named in the case. Tomaz is the sole owner of Rede Loto, which controls BestBet and two other brands licensed in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Both deny joint ownership. According to the case file, police cite a message from Tomaz to a bank asking it to remove Bolsonaro's access to an account at Santander.
Investigators also found BestBet's numbers suspicious. In almost two years the brand brought in just over 360,000 reais ($67,275), less than a tenth of the state licensing fee, and spent nothing on marketing. Tomaz himself placed more than $1.87 billion (10 billion reais) in sports bets through Blaze, and the regulator, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), called him the country's largest player.
Lula called the escape “shameful.” The cases remain in the Supreme Court: under a 2025 ruling, crimes linked to a politician's time in office are heard there even after he leaves it. Had Bolsonaro won the election, a constitutional provision barring prosecution of a sitting president for acts committed outside his term would have applied.
The senator's press conference is expected on October 28 or 29. A senior US State Department official said the family will receive American visas.
