Flávio Bolsonaro flees Brazil, arrives in Miami with cancelled passports amid money laundering probe

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, Brazil’s presidential candidate who lost to incumbent leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, arrived in Miami, U.S., on a private jet on Wednesday morning despite carrying cancelled passports.
Mr Bolsonaro arrived in the U.S. with his wife, Fernanda, and two daughters, Carolina and Luiza, days after the Supreme Court asked him to surrender his passports to pre-empt his flight and subsequent evasion of trial over alleged money laundering.
The embattled Brazilian politician on Monday said he had no intention of fleeing the country, insisting that it was only his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro’s personal opinion.
Mr Bolsonaro left Brazil on Tuesday night through the Tancredo Neves International Bridge in Misiones, a rural region that borders Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.
He travelled to Argentina in a van at around 10:50 p.m. and subsequently departed for Ecuador and later the U.S., where President Donald Trump’s administration promised to issue him and his family members visas.
The Bolsonaros “travelled with valid travel documentation and without any legal impediment to entering the country,” Argentina’s immigration commission said in a statement.
Around 11:40 p.m., Mr Bolsonaro and his family boarded a Baires Fly private jet scheduled to fly to Guayaquil, Ecuador.
After the aircraft landed in Ecuador, it headed to Miami-Opa-locka Executive Airport, where Mr Bolsonaro arrived at around 9:25 a.m. on Wednesday.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said Mr Bolsonaro was under investigation for his alleged role and complicity in a $1 billion money laundering scheme involving his friend, Willer Tomaz.
Mr Tomaz is a lawyer who has been linked to numerous betting companies suspected of serving as conduits for laundering illicit funds.
Both men denied wrongdoing, but Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes asked Mr Bolsonaro to surrender his passport until the investigations were concluded. The lawmaker was also asked to hand over his diplomatic passport.
Mr Bolsonaro’s father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, was sentenced to 27 years’ imprisonment over an attempted coup but was serving his sentence at home due to his frail health.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

States
Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future
The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

NationWide
Tinubu should stop calling Allah’s name in vain; trip to Saudi Arabia for health challenges: Atiku
Mr Abubakar said an official trip presented as a mission for Nigeria is a matter of public interest.

States
Ebola: Enugu reactivates emergency operations centre
Mr Ugwu reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to safeguarding the health and well-being of residents.

Africa
U.S. sanctions Rwanda over alleged backing of M23 rebels in DR Congo
The U.S. further accused the RDF of supplying M23 with weapons.

World
Democratic lawmakers accuse Trump of weaponising federal agents, call for probe against Ilhan Omar to stop
Former U.S. President Barack Obama has faulted the probe into Ms Omar’s immigration record.

Economy
Tinubu’s reforms make local sugar production attractive to investors, says NSDC
Mr Bakrin said the reforms had created a pathway towards sugar self-sufficiency.

States
Kano police nab two suspects over alleged threat to kidnap village head
The police chief reaffirmed the command’s zero tolerance for all forms of criminality.





