Flávio Bolsonaro travelled from the United States to Brazil on a private plane linked to former banker Daniel Vorcaro, according to magazine Piauí.
The revelation came nine days before Brazil's presidential election and has pushed the candidate back on the defensive over his ties to the Banco Master scandal. According to the report, the flight took place in January 2025.
Speaking during a Live CNN broadcast on Thursday, political analyst Isabel Mega evaluated that the new information removes Bolsonaro from his recent comfort zone. She said the confirmation that the senator was formally under investigation in the Dark Horse inquiry had already prompted celebrations within the campaign of the leftist Workers' Party.
According to Mega, those celebrations followed polling data that showed Brazilian voters making a stronger connection between Bolsonaro and the Banco Master affair. Bolsonaro is running for the presidency as the candidate of the conservative Liberal Party.
Private jet connections
Mega pointed out that the aircraft used by Bolsonaro is the same private jet that Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and his wife, Viviane Barci de Moraes, travelled on, according to images revealed by the newspaper O Globo.
The analyst described the flights as a routine arrangement by Vorcaro, who presented himself as a service provider to the political class. By making his aircraft available to prominent figures, the former banker cultivated close relationships across different branches of government in Brasília.
Mega also highlighted lawyer Willer Tomaz, an associate close to Bolsonaro who was named in investigations into fraud at the National Social Security Institute. She said another point of convergence between the pension agency, known as the INSS, and Banco Master was now emerging in the news.
Reactions from rival campaigns
The magazine report provoked an immediate reaction from opposing presidential campaigns, with the Workers' Party among the first to share the article across social media.
Éden Valadares, the communications secretary for the Workers' Party, questioned publicly where the banker ended and the candidate began. Valadares asked on social media whether the contender was Daniel Bolsonaro or Flávio Vorcaro.
Other presidential contenders also intensified their attacks against the Liberal Party nominee. Mega said rival camps stepped up their rhetoric because they feared tactical voting could consolidate behind Bolsonaro ahead of polling day.
Those opponents include Ronaldo Caiado of the Social Democratic Party, Renan Santos of the Missão party, Augusto Cury of Avante, and Romeu Zema of the Novo party. Although they register lower numbers in voter surveys, Mega said their regional reach continues to split the vote, making it difficult for the election to be settled in the first round.
Under Brazilian electoral law, a presidential candidate must secure more than half of all valid votes in the first round to avoid a second round runoff. With the election just nine days away, Bolsonaro faces mounting pressure over his business ties as rivals across the political spectrum push to keep the financial investigation at the heart of the campaign.
