SAO PAULO, May 13 (Reuters) – Brazilian financial markets reeled on Wednesday as traders pointed to a report alleging ties between Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and a scandal-plagued banker, with some speculating it could tip the balance of a close presidential race.
Brazil’s currency fell more than 2% to close above 5 per U.S. dollar for the first time this month, while the benchmark Bovespa stock index closed 1.8% lower.
News website Intercept Brasil reported that Flavio Bolsonaro, a contender in October’s presidential election, had negotiated a commitment of $24 million to finance a film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, from Daniel Vorcaro, owner of failed lender Banco Master.
The report included an alleged audio message from the senator to Vorcaro asking the banker to pay installments of funds previously committed, as the production grappled with overdue payments.
Flavio Bolsonaro confirmed in a video statement that Vorcaro had agreed to finance the film, but said the deal was a “private sponsorship,” with no favors in return.
Vorcaro’s attorney declined to comment.
Brazil’s central bank ordered the liquidation of Banco Master in November amid investigations into fraudulent loan portfolios. Vorcaro was jailed in March, accused of bribing a former central bank director – part of a widening scandal threatening key figures of Brazil’s political establishment.
The alleged links between Vorcaro and Flavio Bolsonaro could undercut the presidential ambitions of the senator, who polls show has been running roughly even with leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a simulated runoff scenario.
The elder Bolsonaro, who lost narrowly to Lula in 2022, is serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after that defeat and is currently under humanitarian house arrest.
(Reporting by Fabricio de Castro and Luciana MagalhaesWriting by Isabel Teles and Fernando CardosoEditing by Brad Haynes and Rosalba O’Brien)
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