Son of Brazil’s former President Bolsonaro fled to the United States after election defeat and refusal to surrender passports
Kyiv • UNN
Flávio Bolsonaro left for the United States without surrendering his passports as ordered by Brazil’s Supreme Court in a money-laundering case. He denies the accusations.
Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, left the country and headed to the United States after losing the presidential election. The politician departed despite a Supreme Court ruling ordering him to surrender his passports as part of a money-laundering investigation. Reuters reports this, citing three sources, writes UNN.
Details
According to the agency, the U.S. Department of State confirmed its intention to issue visas to Bolsonaro and members of his family. One source said that the politician had already arrived in Florida, but his exact whereabouts remain unknown.
On Monday, Brazil's Supreme Court gave the senator 24 hours to surrender his passports. Bolsonaro failed to comply with the demand, after which his documents were invalidated. The politician himself denies the money-laundering allegations.
Just the day before, Bolsonaro denied the possibility of fleeing
I never thought about leaving the country. I will surrender my passports and defend myself against this absurdity, which is clearly an attempt to intimidate me
In the presidential election on October 25, Flávio Bolsonaro lost to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He has still not officially conceded defeat, although his party accepted the election results.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva called his rival's departure shameful and said that he should have remained in the country and proven his innocence.