Brazil's Supreme Court orders investigation into Bolsonaro over possible foreign funding
According to the Brazilian Constitution, a candidate or political party may not receive financial resources from abroad to prevent electoral interference.
A judge on the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil (STF), the country's highest court, ordered authorities to investigate former conservative candidate Flávio Bolsonaro for possible foreign funding, which is prohibited by law.
Article 17, paragraph 1, of the Federal Constitution of Brazil expressly prohibits political parties and election campaigns from receiving financial resources from abroad in order to prevent interference by foreign interests in electoral processes and protect the country's national sovereignty and political autonomy.
On Tuesday, STF Justice Flávio Dino issued an order against Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, directing law enforcement to investigate the "possible origin, circulation and destination of foreign funds" and other forms of alleged electoral interference, such as "manipulation" on social media linked to the former candidate's campaign.
This decision comes hours after Judge Alexandre de Moraes, vice president of the STF and an adversary of the Bolsonaro family, ruled that the former conservative candidate must surrender his passport this Tuesday so he cannot leave the country while he is under investigation for allegedly leading a money-laundering scheme.
In this regard, Bolsonaro asserted that this decision amounts to an "attempt to intimidate me." "I never thought of leaving the country. I'm going to hand over my passports and defend myself against this absurdity," he added.
Bolsonaro, who has already confirmed that he will lead the opposition, lost the election this past weekend to socialist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
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