Flávio Bolsonaro reportedly leaves Brazil for the United States

Flávio Bolsonaro has reportedly left Brazil for the United States after failing to surrender his passports to the Federal Police by the deadline set by the judicial authorities. Official US government sources have confirmed to Reuters that the Brazilian senator is in the country.

People close to the politician also reportedly told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo that he had left. However, Brazil’s Federal Police say there is no formal record of Bolsonaro leaving the country through an official immigration checkpoint. It remains unclear how he could have left while the court order was in force.

Bolsonaro had been ordered to surrender his passports within 24 hours. After he failed to do so, the authorities cancelled his travel documents. The measure is part of several judicial investigations involving him, including a case into alleged money laundering linked to online betting. The senator denies the allegations.

Questions about his whereabouts grew after Brazilian media reported that he may have travelled to the United States via Argentina. Electoral defeat by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has left Bolsonaro under political and judicial pressure. The senator had publicly said he had no intention of leaving Brazil and described the passport order as an attempt to intimidate him.