Foreign media reported that Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro who lost the presidential election, departed for the US in defiance of a court order requiring him to surrender his passport amid a money laundering investigation.
Reuters and The New York Times reported that Senator Flavio Bolsonaro headed to the US immediately after his defeat in the presidential runoff.
Previously, the Brazilian Supreme Court ordered Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who is suspected of involvement in a $1 billion money laundering scheme linked to online gambling, to surrender his passport within 24 hours the day after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the presidential runoff.
Although the senator publicly stated that he had no intention of leaving the country and would comply with the order, he failed to submit his passport within the deadline, prompting Brazilian authorities to immediately invalidate it.
With no official immigration records logged by the Brazilian Federal Police, speculation has emerged that he may have traveled through neighboring Argentina via land and a private jet by utilizing his dual citizenship as an Italian citizen.
The US Department of State is reportedly reviewing visa issuance for the senator and his family, drawing on close ties with the Donald Trump administration.
The incident has raised the possibility of diplomatic friction between the Trump administration, which has argued that the Bolsonaro family is facing political persecution, and the Brazilian government under President Lula, which has criticized foreign interference.
Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Jang Yu-jin | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
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