Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who lost the presidential runoff, has reportedly left the country for the United States despite a judicial travel ban, but conflicting accounts of his whereabouts have emerged as authorities investigate whether he crossed into Argentina, Anadolu Agency reported.
Brazilian news outlet Globo cited sources close to Bolsonaro who said he had left Brazil with his family. However, officials have not confirmed his departure or established the route he may have taken.
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The reports emerged after Brazil’s Federal Police canceled his regular and diplomatic passports on Tuesday. Bolsonaro had failed to comply with a court order requiring him to surrender the documents within 24 hours.
Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued the order on Monday, a day after Bolsonaro lost the presidential runoff to incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The ruling also barred the 45-year-old senator from leaving Brazil.
The restrictions stem from an investigation into suspected money laundering and currency evasion involving financial transactions linked to Willer Tomaz, an associate of Bolsonaro.
The senator is also being investigated in a separate case concerning the financing of *Dark Horse*, a biographical film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Authorities are examining alleged payments connected to Daniel Vorcaro, the former owner of the now-defunct Banco Master financial institution.
Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing and said on Monday that he had no intention of leaving Brazil.
“I have never thought about leaving the country. I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this travesty,” he said, describing the court order as “a clear attempt to intimidate me.”
He made the remarks after visiting his father, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence under house arrest in Brasilia.
Speculation about Bolsonaro’s whereabouts intensified on Tuesday after Argentine media reported that he had crossed the border by land using his national identity card. The reports said he planned to board a private flight to Miami with his wife and daughters.
The reports focused on a Gulfstream G400 private jet registered as LV-JQW and operated by Argentine charter company Baires Fly SA. The aircraft arrived at Puerto Iguazu airport near the Brazilian border from Buenos Aires late Monday.
The jet was expected to fly to the United States with four passengers and three crew members but remained at the airport on Tuesday. Argentine media offered differing accounts of the delay, with reports citing regulatory issues affecting departure clearance and others saying the planned passengers had not arrived and the flight was canceled.
Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration said it had no record of Bolsonaro entering the country and that no flight plan had been submitted listing members of his family. The agency added that authorities had inspected the aircraft and its crew and found the company’s documentation in order.
Brazilian Federal Police also found no record of Bolsonaro leaving through an official immigration checkpoint. They began examining border crossings and flight records to determine whether he had departed.
Bolsonaro’s campaign coordinator, Senator Rogerio Marinho, initially denied that the senator had left Brazil. His brother Eduardo, who lives in the United States, also dismissed the reports as a “lie.”
The reports emerged two days after Lula defeated Bolsonaro in Sunday’s presidential runoff to secure a fourth term in office. The senator initially called for the election result to be annulled, although his Liberal Party has acknowledged Lula’s victory.
