Bolsonaro faces corruption probe weeks before elections

Brazilian presidential candidate Senator Flávio Bolsonaro is under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion for receiving millions of dollars from a disgraced banker to finance a movie about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazil’s top court unsealed several documents late Thursday that show Bolsonaro, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s primary opponent, is under investigation for receiving US$12 million from a banker at the centre of a corruption scandal to produce an unreleased movie titled The Dark Horse.

The investigation, which centres on whether the Bolsonaro family misused the funds and whether the payments were properly reported to Brazilian authorities, threatens to undermine Bolsonaro’s bid for the presidency. The first round of elections is slated for October 4, and the senator is locked in a tight race with Lula.