A far-right senator and presidential hopeful, Flavio Bolsonaro, was recorded asking a banker accused of corruption for R$134m to finance a heroic biopic about his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro. The banker, Daniel Vorcaro, is imprisoned and linked to what is described as Brazil’s largest banking fraud, with losses estimated at R$60bn. The leaked voice memos and messages were sent before the senator’s arrest, when many allegations against the banker were already widely known. In the messages, Flavio refers to the banker as “brother” and urges payment to ensure actor Jim Caviezel and director Cyrus Nowrasteh are paid. The revelations triggered backlash, including criticism from a presidential hopeful governor and calls from a conservative congressman to consider replacing Flavio.
"Flavio Bolsonaro has been caught on tape asking a banker accused of corruption for $26.8m (20m) to fund a film about his father, the former president Jair Bolsonaro. The leaked voice memos and text messages were published on Wednesday by the Intercept Brasil, and later acknowledged by Flavio Bolsonaro, a far-right senator who is tied in polls with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead of October's election."
"In the recordings, Flavio Bolsonaro can be heard asking for R$134m ($26.8m) towards a heroic biopic in which Jair Bolsonaro is played by Jim Caviezel, who portrayed Jesus in Mel Gibson's 2004 Passion of the Christ. The requests were made to the banker Daniel Vorcaro, who is currently in prison and at the centre of what many consider the country's largest banking fraud and one of the biggest corruption scandals in recent history, with total losses estimated at R$60bn."
"In the messages, which were sent before his arrest but when many of the accusations against him were already widely known, Flavio refers to the banker as brother and presses him for payment to ensure Caviezel and director Cyrus Nowrasteh were paid. We're at a very decisive moment for the film and, as there are a lot of outstanding payments, everyone is tense Imagine us defaulting on someone like Jim Caviezel, or Cyrus It would be very bad, the younger Bolsonaro can be heard saying."
"The revelations triggered a significant backlash, even among the far right. Romeu Zema, the governor of Minas Gerais who is a presidential hopeful but has largely avoided criticising the Bolsonaros, called the recordings a slap in the face to decent Brazilians, while a conservative congressman suggested it might be better to replace Flavio o"
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