(Oct 27): A Brazilian Supreme Court justice ordered federal police to open a probe into possible illegal foreign financing of defeated candidate Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign, including by a group linked to US Vice President JD Vance.
Justice Flávio Dino ordered investigators to examine possible use of foreign resources, services or other benefits provided to political campaigns, according to a court filing published on Tuesday. He also asked police to investigate whether intermediaries were used to conceal them.
Dino stressed that the order doesn’t establish that illegal foreign financing occurred, but said allegations levelled during Brazil’s presidential race warrant an investigation. He said police should probe contacts involving the Rockbridge Network, a US-based group co-founded by Vance, and two Brazilian businessmen to determine whether resources, services or other economically valuable benefits were connected to the campaign.
Police should also investigate election advertising linked to Polymarket, a US-based predictions site, and Meta Platforms Inc, Dino said.
Vance’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Bloomberg sought comment via email from 1789 Capital, whose co-founder helped launch Rockbridge.
Polymarket didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Meta referred to past statements on Brazil’s election, denying it had favoured a specific candidate in the race. A spokesperson for Bolsonaro didn’t immediately respond.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated Bolsonaro in a runoff election on Sunday, following a campaign marked by accusations of improper influence by social media companies and other foreign actors.
Brazilian law prohibits candidates and political parties from receiving money or other economic assistance from foreign entities or governments. Dino said that prohibition extends beyond direct cash contributions to services and other benefits.
Dino cited allegations made against against Rockbridge and the Brazilian businessmen by former presidential candidate Renan Santos.
Santos, who failed to advance to the runoff, accused the US-based group of participating in negotiations aimed at obtaining financial support for Bolsonaro’s campaign, the judge wrote in the order.
He said the investigation should also seek to identify who paid foreign-based social-media accounts to publish election-related content based on predictions from Polymarket, whose services are prohibited in Brazil. Investigators must determine the origin of the money and whether people or organizations in Brazil knowingly participated.
The investigation will also examine whether internet companies engaged in what Dino described as deliberate “algorithmic manipulation” or created intentional disparities aimed at helping or hurting candidates in the Brazilian election.
Ahead of the runoff, Brazil’s electoral court ordered Meta not to interfere with the distribution of political or election-related content after Lula’s campaign accused it of “repeatedly and systematically” failing to deliver his content to users across its platforms. His campaign also said Meta AI, the company’s generative artificial intelligence tool, was refusing requests to create images related to him while generating campaign material favorable to Bolsonaro.
Meta has said technical incidents affected campaigns across the political spectrum and has denied favouring or interfering on behalf of any candidate.
The probe will separately seek information on whether there was any connection between potential political financing and foreign economic interests in Brazil’s rare earths and other critical minerals.
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