Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro confirmed that he held an in-person meeting with disgraced financier Daniel Vorcaro in late 2025. The meeting occurred after Vorcaro—the owner of the collapsed financial institution Banco Master—had been arrested and released on an ankle monitor.
The revelation has intensified political pressure on the right-wing lawmaker, whose political future has been under heavy scrutiny since investigative news outlet The Intercept Brasil exposed his connection to the banker. Vorcaro was taken into custody for a second time in March on allegations of bribing a former central bank director. His bank, Banco Master, was shut down and liquidated by authorities following investigations into massive loan fraud.
Senator Bolsonaro, who is eyeing a presidential run, has repeatedly defended his interactions with Vorcaro. He maintains that their relationship was strictly commercial and centered entirely on a private investment agreement to fund an English-language biographical film about his father, the imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro. According to the senator, no political favors or government resources were involved.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Flávio Bolsonaro explained that the late-2025 meeting was arranged specifically to cut ties with the banker after the true scale of Vorcaro’s legal troubles came to light. The senator stated that he told Vorcaro during the meeting that had he known how severe the situation was, he would have sought alternative financial backers much sooner.
The political fallout from the scandal has already triggered volatility in the Brazilian financial markets, where investors are recalculating the odds of a tight presidential race. The scandal appears to have dealt a severe blow to Bolsonaro’s campaign; the first major opinion poll released since the revelations shows incumbent leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opening up a seven-percentage-point lead over the senator, breaking what had previously been a dead heat between the two candidates.