Senator Bolsonaro says he met with disgraced Brazilian banker after arrest

BRASILIA, May 19 (Reuters) – Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro acknowledged on Tuesday that he met in person with banker Daniel Vorcaro after the owner of failed lender Banco Master was arrested last year and released with an ankle monitor.

Bolsonaro has faced scrutiny since news website The Intercept Brasil last week reported his ties to the banker, who was jailed for a second time in March, accused of bribing a former central bank director. Master was liquidated in November amid investigations into fraudulent loan portfolios.

The right-wing senator with presidential ambitions has said his relationship with Vorcaro only involved an agreement to finance a film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, calling it an investment with no favors in return.

On Tuesday, the senator told a press conference that the meeting in late 2025 was intended to end negotiations with Vorcaro after the banker’s alleged wrongdoings became public.

“I did go to meet him to put an end to the matter and to say that if he had told me the situation was as serious as it was, I would have looked for another investor much earlier,” Flavio Bolsonaro told reporters.

Brazilian financial markets have reeled since the senator’s ties with Vorcaro were revealed, as traders speculate it could tip the balance of a close presidential race this year.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva opened an advantage of seven percentage points over the senator in the first major poll conducted since Bolsonaro’s ties to Vorcaro became public. They had been virtually tied in previous polls.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Fernando Cardoso; Editing by Brad Haynes and Alistair Bell)