Dino Unseals 5,000 Pages in the Dark Horse Case
BRAZIL · STF
Key Facts
- —The decision Justice Flávio Dino lifted secrecy on the Dark Horse case on Sunday 13 September 2026.
- —What was unsealed About 5,000 pages produced by the São Paulo civil police and sent to the Supreme Court.
- —What the case covers Congressional earmarks and São Paulo municipal funds allegedly routed towards a film.
- —The operation The Federal Police executed 49 search warrants against 29 targets on 10 September, in São Paulo, Rio, Ceará and Brasília.
- —What triggered it A representation filed by federal deputy Tabata Amaral.
- —What this is not The Banco Master sponsorship strand sits in a separate inquiry before Justice André Mendonça. The two are not the same case.
A Supreme Court justice unsealing five thousand pages on a Sunday is making a point about publicity, and he said so in the decision.
Justice Flávio Dino lifted the secrecy on the Dark Horse investigation on Sunday, releasing roughly 5,000 pages of material produced by the São Paulo civil police and ordering seized devices transferred to Federal Police custody.
What Dark Horse Is
Dark Horse is both a film and the name of the police operation built around its financing. The film is a biographical picture about Jair Bolsonaro, directed by the American film-maker Cyrus Nowrasteh and starring Jim Caviezel, produced by Go Up Entertainment.
The investigation examines whether congressional earmarks, the emendas parlamentares that individual legislators direct to projects of their choosing, and São Paulo municipal funds were routed towards the production.
The Federal Police executed the operation on 10 September, serving 49 search-and-seizure warrants against 29 targets across São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Ceará and the Federal District. The case reached the Supreme Court through a representation filed by federal deputy Tabata Amaral.
What the Decision Does
Dino lifted secrecy on approximately 5,000 pages produced by the São Paulo civil police and forwarded to the court. He ordered the material seized in the operation, including telephones and computers, transferred to Federal Police custody.
He also authorised access to financial intelligence reports that had been pending since May, and, according to Gazeta do Povo, ordered banking-secrecy breaks affecting companies under suspicion and the producer named in the file.
Poder360 published the full text of the decision, which is the reason its reasoning is available rather than only its outcome.
The Reasoning Dino Gave
The justice framed the unsealing as a question of consistency rather than of this case alone. If bank owners, politicians or magistrates appear as suspects across a set of procedures, he wrote, all the investigations should proceed in step and with full publicity.
He referred to a change in jurisprudence under way, a viragem jurisprudencial, which is the court’s own language for a shift in how it handles the balance between investigative secrecy and public scrutiny.
That framing matters beyond Dark Horse. It is an argument for treating the several overlapping Supreme Court inquiries touching Banco Master, congressional earmarks and the judiciary itself under one standard of disclosure.
The Case It Is Not
Dino’s inquiry covers the earmarks and the municipal funds. The strand concerning Banco Master’s sponsorship of the film is a separate investigation before Justice André Mendonça, who opened it over R$61 million (about US$12 million) in transfers linked to Daniel Vorcaro and lifted its secrecy on 11 September.
Coverage that merges the two produces a single case that does not exist. The Rio Times reports them as the two inquiries they are, before two different justices, unsealed two days apart.
What Follows
Unsealed material does not establish an offence. It establishes what investigators have gathered, which is the input to a decision by the prosecutor-general on whether to charge anyone.
The practical effect in the short term is that the file becomes reportable. Five thousand pages entering the public record on a Sunday guarantees a week of Brazilian coverage working through them.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Dark Horse?
A film about Jair Bolsonaro and the name of the police operation examining how its financing was arranged.
What did Dino decide?
He lifted secrecy on about 5,000 pages, ordered seized devices transferred to the Federal Police and authorised access to pending financial-intelligence reports.
When?
Sunday 13 September 2026.
Is this the Banco Master case?
No. The Master sponsorship strand is a separate inquiry before Justice André Mendonça, unsealed on 11 September.
Who brought the case to the court?
It followed a representation by federal deputy Tabata Amaral.
Sources: Poder360, Gazeta do Povo, Times Brasil, Jornal de Brasília.
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