Flávio Bolsonaro's passports cancelled after he fails to surrender them

ByVanessa Buschschlüter Latin America online editor.

Key points

• Lula won 51.79% of the vote, compared to Bolsonaro's 48.21%.
• Along with that investigation, Brazil's Supreme Court ordered police on Tuesday to probe Flávio Bolsonaro's electoral campaign over alleged foreign funding.
• On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to hand his passports over to police within 24 hours as part of an investigation into alleged funds laundering.
• Federal officers are checking border crossings to establish if Bolsonaro may have travelled to neighbouring Argentina, according to a police source consulted by BBC News Brasil.
• Bolsonaro was already under investigation for alleged corruption over the financing of a film regarding his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.

After he failed to comply with an order to surrender the documents, police in Brazil say they have cancelled the passports of the defeated right-wing presidential candidate, Flávio Bolsonaro.

On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to hand his passports over to police within 24 hours as part of an investigation into alleged funds laundering. It he denies.

At the time, Bolsonaro remarked he had no aims to leave the country, and insisted that he would stay in Brazil to lead the opposition to his left-wing rival, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Nevertheless, the deadline has passed without the senator surrendering the passports, prompting speculation he may have left the country.

Nevertheless, Argentine authorities have informed the BBC there is no record of Bolsonaro entering their country through any border crossing.

Bolsonaro was already under investigation for alleged corruption over the financing of a film regarding his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. This person was convicted of plotting a coup and is under house arrest.

In practice, the 45-year-old senator suffered a stinging defeat on Sunday when he was beaten by Lula in a presidential run-off. It bolsonaro had been widely projected to win. Lula wins fourth term in dramatic Brazil election comeback.

According to Opinion polls had put him narrowly ahead of Lula and analysts, bolsonaro's win in the first round of the election on 4 October, meant he was probable to take victory in the run-off.

But after an early lead in the count, he was overtaken by the veteran incumbent. This person became the first presidential candidate to overturn a first round loss to win in the second round.

Despite trailing by 4.4 million votes, Bolsonaro has not conceded and has pressed the election to be annulled.

He argues that he was put at a disadvantage since polling was extended by two hours on election day – even though the extension was requested by both his party and that of his rival.

He called the extension, which was ordered by a Supreme Court justice, a "dirty trick".

Although it did say that the extension of voting "merits investigation", nevertheless the party he represented, the Liberal Party, has accepted the result.

Taken together, the developments around flávio Bolsonaro' s passports cancelled after he fails to surrender them point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.