Bolsonaro Son Leaves Brazil for Miami Amid Betting Probe
Senator Flávio Bolsonaro flew to the US days after losing Brazil's presidential election, defying a travel ban tied to a money-laundering investigation linked to online betting site Blaze.com.
Brazilian senator Flávio Bolsonaro landed in Miami on Wednesday, breaching a court order that barred him from leaving Brazil, according to Casino.org News.
The departure came three days after Bolsonaro lost the country's presidential election to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is set to begin a fourth term.
Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, is under investigation over his ties to lawyer Willer Tomaz, identified by Brazil's Finance Ministry as the country's biggest online gambler last year.
Court documents cited by Casino.org show Tomaz placed R$6.6 billion ($1.3 billion) in cumulative bets on online casino and sportsbook operator Blaze.com during 2025 and 2026.
Authorities are probing possible financial irregularities and an undisclosed business relationship between the two men.
Federal police are separately examining whether Bolsonaro held a secret interest in BestBet, an online betting operator once licensed by Rio de Janeiro's state lottery, Loterj.
A report by Brazilian magazine piauí last week traced connections between BestBet's parent company, Rede Loto, and two Portuguese holding firms tied to Tomaz.
Reporting by piauí and Folha de S.Paulo, relayed by Casino.org, says Bolsonaro had access as a listed user to a Santander account held by one of those firms, Alcazar Holdings, a detail investigators are treating as a possible sign of hidden ownership in the gambling venture.
Bolsonaro denies sharing an account with Tomaz or holding any unlawful business arrangement with him.
Tomaz has rejected the reporting, saying his companies operate legally and that the money he staked on Blaze.com came from legitimate, tax-declared sources.
Brazil's Supreme Federal Court ordered Bolsonaro to hand over his passports on Monday, the day after the election result was confirmed, with Justice Alexandre de Moraes also barring him from contact with Tomaz after federal police warned he might try to leave the country.
Bolsonaro travelled overland into Argentina with his wife and two daughters on Tuesday, according to Argentine immigration officials, before boarding a private jet from Puerto Iguazú that stopped in Guayaquil, Ecuador, en route to Miami's Opa-Locka Executive Airport.
He left the airport under police escort without speaking to waiting reporters, The Guardian reported.
A senior US State Department official confirmed the family would be allowed into the United States, and President Donald Trump voiced support for their arrival.
Allies cited by Brazilian outlet Metrópoles said Bolsonaro intends to seek political asylum in the US.
He also faces a separate inquiry into alleged financial irregularities connected to a film about his father, which he denies.
Bolsonaro initially refused to accept his election loss and threatened to contest its validity, before his party acknowledged Lula's victory; he has since said he may instead challenge the result over alleged campaign abuses.
Lula described his opponent's departure from the country as "shameful."