The magistrate of the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil, Alexandre de Moraes, has ordered Flávio Bolsonaro, defeated candidate in the second round of the presidential elections held last Sunday, to surrender his passport, which in practice prohibits him from leaving Brazilian territory.
The resolution is linked to a case of money laundering related to Flávio Bolsonaro's connections with lawyer Willer Tomaz, who is also being investigated within inquiries opened due to suspicions of irregular fund movements in the betting sector.
In the order, the judge also establishes that Flávio Bolsonaro and Tomaz cannot maintain any type of communication; he orders the annulment of all Brazilian passports in the name of Bolsonaro, including the diplomatic one, and sets a maximum deadline of 24 hours for the surrender of all travel documents he possesses, including those of other nationalities, given that he holds an Italian passport.
Flávio Bolsonaro has publicly criticized the decision through a video disseminated on social media, in which he claims that the court order would be dated the very Sunday, coinciding with the election day. According to his account, police officers demanded his passport on Monday when he was leaving his father Jair Bolsonaro's house, who is under house arrest for an attempted coup.
"When I was leaving, the Federal Police of Lula (President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva) were at the door of his house and in the middle of the street and asked me to hand over my passports and also prohibited me from leaving the country," he explained.
The judicial resolution would be based, according to Bolsonaro's version, on the alleged intention to leave Brazil in case of losing the elections. "I never said that," he replied.
The criminal procedure was initiated in the state of Rio Grande do Sul for alleged money laundering and currency evasion through the use of betting houses. Once Bolsonaro's name appeared in the proceedings, the file was sent to the Supreme Court, as he enjoys privileged jurisdiction due to his status as a senator.