Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro confirmed on Tuesday that he traveled to meet banker Daniel Vorcaro following the banker’s arrest and subsequent release with an ankle monitor. The senator said the in-person meeting, which he placed in late 2025, was intended to bring an end to negotiations after reports about the banker’s alleged misconduct surfaced.
Vorcaro, the owner of failed lender Banco Master, was jailed again in March on accusations that he bribed a former central bank director. Banco Master was liquidated in November amid investigations into fraudulent loan portfolios. The senator’s ties to Vorcaro were reported last week by news website The Intercept Brasil, prompting fresh scrutiny of the relationship.
Flavio Bolsonaro, who has expressed presidential ambitions, has maintained that his dealings with Vorcaro were limited to an arrangement to finance a film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. He described that arrangement as an investment, asserting there were no favors exchanged in return.
Addressing reporters on Tuesday, the senator said the purpose of the late-2025 meeting was to end the matter and to make clear that, had he known the gravity of the situation earlier, he would have sought another investor.
"I did go to meet him to put an end to the matter and to say that if he had told me the situation was as serious as it was, I would have looked for another investor much earlier," Flavio Bolsonaro told reporters.
Financial markets in Brazil reacted sharply after the senator’s connection to Vorcaro became public, with traders assessing the potential implications for a closely contested presidential race. Polling data released after the revelations showed President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva opening a seven percentage point lead over the senator in the first major poll conducted since the ties were disclosed. Prior to that survey, the two had been virtually tied in polls.
This developing story has intersected political dynamics and market sentiment, with investors and political observers watching for further disclosures and potential impacts on both the electoral contest and financial-sector confidence.