Flávio Bolsonaro, Brazil's leading rightwing presidential candidate, has been caught on tape asking a jailed banker for $26.8 million (£20 million) to fund a biopic about his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro. The leaked voice memos and text messages, published by The Intercept Brasil on Wednesday, were later acknowledged by the far-right senator, who is tied in polls with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of October's election.
In the recordings, Flávio Bolsonaro requests 134 million reais ($26.8 million) for a 'heroic' film starring Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in Mel Gibson's 2004 film The Passion of the Christ, as Jair Bolsonaro. The requests were made to banker Daniel Vorcaro, currently imprisoned over what is considered one of Brazil's largest banking frauds, with losses estimated at 60 billion reais.
Flávio refers to Vorcaro as 'brother' and presses for payment to ensure Caviezel and director Cyrus Nowrasteh are paid. 'We're at a very decisive moment for the film and, as there are a lot of outstanding payments, everyone is tense … Imagine us defaulting on someone like Jim Caviezel, or Cyrus … It would be very bad,' he says. The revelations have triggered significant backlash, even among the far right.
Governor Romeu Zema called the recordings 'a slap in the face to decent Brazilians', while a conservative congressman suggested replacing Flávio on the ticket with Bolsonaro's wife, Michelle. Sociologist Celso Rocha de Barros said, 'The blow to Flávio's campaign is brutal – by far the worst news for his campaign so far.'
Vorcaro, majority shareholder of Master Bank, is accused of defrauding 800,000 clients by offering above-market returns and paying bribes to officials. He denies all allegations. Flávio initially denied the story but later admitted it, calling it 'a son seeking private sponsorship for a private film about his father's story'. An advertising executive reportedly told O Globo that at least $12 million was paid, with documents showing funds transferred to an intermediary company.
