Flávio Bolsonaro arrives in Miami as Brazilian probes over betting-linked financial crimes continue

The Brazilian senator landed in Miami on Wednesday after leaving Brazil, where he was under investigation over alleged financial crimes tied to betting companies. For high-risk operators, the detail that matters is not the family drama; it is that the case sits right on the line between gambling, payments, and money-laundering scrutiny.

1. According to The Guardian, Bolsonaro’s private jet arrived at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. Police transported him by car, and he made no statement on arrival.
2. A senior U.S. State Department official said his family would receive U.S. visas. Donald Trump said he would approve the move.
3. Bolsonaro later posted a statement on his official X account, saying he would not subject his family to the situation in Brazil and that the country did not deserve another international embarrassment. He said Brazil no longer has legal certainty, claimed he brought his family to the United States because they are safe there, and thanked Trump and the U.S. government for hosting them.
4. He said staying in Brazil would have made him a “hostage” and a target for blackmail to protect Supreme Court justices from an impeachment trial. He denied fleeing, saying, “I did not flee Brazil, I left through Brazil.” He also said he did not want to be silenced and jailed, like his father.
5. Brazilian authorities say Flávio Bolsonaro faces at least two criminal investigations. One seeks to determine whether he took part in a money-laundering scheme involving about $905 million and betting companies. Investigators suspect he was a secret co-owner of betting businesses with lawyer Willer Tomaz, who is also under investigation.

Tomaz is the sole owner of Rede Loto, the company behind BestBet and two other brands licensed in Rio de Janeiro. Piauí reported that Bolsonaro was a hidden partner in those firms. In nearly two years, BestBet collected just over $67.275, less than one tenth of the $934,000 it paid for its state license, and the brand did no marketing.

Authorities also say Tomaz placed more than $1.868 billion in sports bets through Blaze, and Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) named him the country’s biggest bettor. Police further say both men had privileged access to a Santander account, a claim they deny.