Brazil: Dark Horse Probe Widens, Brava Upgraded, Ambipar Vote Delayed
Brazil · JUSTICE
Key Facts
- —Dark Horse Federal Police gain access to São Paulo probe data on producer Go Up Entertainment
- —Brava Energia Fitch upgraded the oil producer to BB from BB- with a stable outlook
- —Ambipar creditors’ meeting on a R$10.5 billion (about US$2.0 billion) plan failed for lack of quorum
- —Maria da Penha Supreme Court extended urgent protective measures beyond domestic settings
- —6×1 Senate rapporteur is expected to file his workweek report in early September
From a film financing inquiry to a credit upgrade and a stalled debt vote, Brazil’s justice and business calendars overlapped this week, with a landmark domestic-violence ruling from the Supreme Court in between.
Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino has authorized Brazil’s Federal Police to access evidence gathered by São Paulo civil police in a fraud probe targeting the producer of Dark Horse, the cinebiopic of former president Jair Bolsonaro, a confidential decision first revealed by O Globo and reported by CNN Brasil on Monday, 24 August 2026.
Dino widens Federal Police access to Dark Horse evidence
Dino’s confidential decision lets federal investigators work with material collected in a São Paulo Civil Police operation opened in June 2026 against Karina Ferreira da Gama, owner of Go Up Entertainment, the production company behind Dark Horse. The state operation is investigating suspected fraud and diversion of public resources, according to CNN Brasil.
At the Supreme Court, the Dark Horse case runs inside an inquiry into whether parliamentary amendments, the budget transfers known in Brazil as emendas parlamentares, were used to finance the production. It is the second judicial front opened over the film: in July 2026, Justice André Mendonça had already authorized the Federal Police to investigate the financing of Dark Horse.
Dark Horse is a cinebiopic of Bolsonaro, the former president whose legal and political troubles continue to dominate Brazilian headlines. Bolsonaro, who governed from 2019 to 2022, was convicted by the Supreme Court in September 2025 of attempting to overturn the 2022 election and sentenced to 27 years in prison. No charges have been announced in the federal inquiry into the film, and the production company has not been convicted of any wrongdoing.
Fitch raises Brava Energia to BB after Ecopetrol takeover
Fitch Ratings upgraded Brava Energia to BB from BB- with a stable outlook, Valor reported. The move follows the completion, on 17 and 18 August, of Ecopetrol’s acquisition of a controlling 51 percent stake in the Brazilian oil producer, through 116,110,717 common shares bought by its subsidiary Ecopetrol Investimentos.
The Colombian state oil company built the position through a tender offer auction on 5 August at R$23 per share, worth about R$2.67 billion in total, roughly US$520 million at 5.14 reais to the dollar, while a separate block of about 26 percent was negotiated privately at R$24 per share. Brazil’s antitrust regulator Cade cleared the deal on 16 June, and Brava’s debenture holders granted waivers on 8 June. Ecopetrol said the acquisition strengthens its growth platform in Brazil.
For Ecopetrol, the stake adds about 42,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day on a 51 percent basis; Brava produces around 81,000 barrels per day and reported 459 million barrels of oil equivalent in proved reserves for 2025. Fitch had placed Brava’s BB- rating on positive watch in May 2026, after Ecopetrol’s bid was announced.
Ambipar creditors’ meeting fails for lack of quorum
The creditors’ meeting called to vote on Ambipar’s judicial recovery plan was not installed on 25 August 2026 for lack of quorum, Estadão’s Broadcast service reported. Holders representing 95 percent of the unsecured class, mostly foreign bondholders, were present, but Brazilian law requires more than half of each class, including labor, secured and supplier creditors, to attend. A second-call meeting is set for 1 September at 2 p.m., when any quorum is enough.
Ambipar, the environmental services group, filed for judicial recovery on 20 October 2025 with debts of R$10.5 billion, about US$2.04 billion. It holds a restructuring support agreement with 53.8 percent of its bondholders, whose plan includes US$925 million in new notes with a seven-year payment term; existing bonds total roughly US$1 billion.
The road to the vote has been contentious. Oliveira Trust, the debenture trustee, and Sumitomo asked Rio de Janeiro’s 3rd Business Court to postpone the meeting, citing missing financial statements for the third quarter of 2025, the full year 2025 and the first two quarters of 2026. The judge ordered Ambipar to share the numbers with the requesting creditors under seal. Under the plan, chief executive Tércio Borlenghi Jr. and chief financial officer Thiago da Costa Silva remain in their posts.
Maria da Penha expansion already applied beyond the home
On 19 August 2026, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that urgent protective measures under the Maria da Penha Law apply to all gender-based violence against women, regardless of any domestic, family or intimate relationship between victim and aggressor. The decision, in Tema 1.412 with rapporteur and court president Edson Fachin, also holds that even judges who lack jurisdiction over a case must decide urgent requests and then forward them, that political gender violence falls to the Electoral Justice, and that police delegates may grant urgent measures.
An early application of the new thesis came within days. Legal outlet Migalhas reported on 26 August that an employee of the municipal chamber of Conceição das Alagoas, in Minas Gerais, won protective measures against the chamber’s president, a city councillor. According to the Minas Gerais prosecutor’s office, she reported psychological violence, moral and sexual harassment and threats; the court ordered the councillor to keep his distance and make no contact, in what Migalhas described as an application of the new thesis.
The Maria da Penha Law, in force since 2006, is Brazil’s landmark statute against violence toward women and created the system of urgent protective measures, such as restraining and no-contact orders, that judges must decide within 48 hours. Until this month’s ruling, those measures were tied to domestic or family settings.
6×1 schedule: Senate vote seen in early September
On the 6×1 workweek front, already covered by The Rio Times, Brazilian press reports say Senate rapporteur Omar Aziz plans to file his report in early September, with the government treating the coming weeks as the main window to finish the vote on the constitutional amendment, which passed the lower house on 27 May, before the October first round of elections.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Dark Horse investigation about?
Investigators suspect fraud and diversion of public resources in the production of Dark Horse, the cinebiopic of former president Jair Bolsonaro. The Supreme Court is examining whether parliamentary budget amendments helped finance the film, and federal police can now use evidence from a São Paulo state probe.
Why did Fitch upgrade Brava Energia?
Fitch raised Brava Energia to BB from BB- with a stable outlook after Colombia’s Ecopetrol completed its acquisition of a controlling 51 percent stake in the company on 17 and 18 August 2026. Brava produces about 81,000 barrels of oil per day and reported 459 million barrels of oil equivalent in proved reserves.
What happens next in Ambipar’s judicial recovery?
A second-call creditors’ meeting is scheduled for 1 September 2026 at 2 p.m., when any quorum suffices to vote on the plan covering R$10.5 billion in debt, about US$2.0 billion, including US$925 million in new notes. The first meeting, on 25 August, was not installed because only the unsecured class of creditors reached quorum.
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