BRASÍLIA, 11, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Brazilian police conducted dozens of raids Thursday into the alleged embezzlement of public funds by a company that produced a highly positive forthcoming biopic on far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.

The film "Dark Horse" -- starring American actor Jim Caviezel as Bolsonaro -- has been under scrutiny as part of a corruption scandal that has rocked deeply divided Brazil ahead of next month's presidential election.

Right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the ex-president's son, is attempting to prevent leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from winning a forth term in office.

The elder Bolsonaro was imprisoned last year after being convicted of plotting to remain in power after losing a 2022 election to Lula.

Flavio Bolsonaro's campaign has been shaken by revelations that he approached notorious fraud-accused banker Daniel Vorcaro -- head of the collapsed private bank Banco Master -- for money, which Bolsonaro said was to finance "Dark Horse."

A police source told AFP that the targets of Thursday's raids included Karina Gama, head of the company that produced "Dark Horse," and Mario Frias, a pro-Bolsonaro congressman listed as the film's executive producer.

The pair have been banned from leaving Brazil pending the outcome of the investigation.

Frias, for his part, said he was not guilty and denounced the investgation as a "smoke screen."

A total of 49 search and seizure warrants were executed as part of the operation, which is probing "alleged embezzlement of public funds" totaling "hundreds of millions of reais" (tens of millions of dollars), a federal police statement said.

The police said the money came from parliamentary funds available to lawmakers to finance special projects, usually in their electoral strongholds.

According to local media reports, the investigation centers on whether the embezzled funds were used to finance the Bolsonaro film.

Flavio Bolsonaro blasted the probe as "attempted political interference" in the presidential campaign due to what he called his poll lead over Lula.

The pair are neck-and-neck in voting intentions ahead of the October 4 first round of voting.

- Claims of political meddling -

If, as expected, no one wins an outright majority, a runoff round will be held on October 25.

Vorcaro's links to senior politicians, judges and other Brazilians in positions of power have dominated the last weeks of campaigning.

Vorcaro's alleged ties to leading Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes have caused a deep split in Brazil's top judicial institution, leading to open feuding between judges.

Police say Vorcaro repeatedly messaged Moraes for information about the investigation into Banco Master's collapse in the lead-up to his arrest last year.

The case has been used by the right to bash the court and specifically Moraes, a hate figure among conservatives for spearheading the coup investigation into Jair Bolsonaro.

At the height of the infighting in the court this week, a conservative-backed judge suspended the country's police chief only for another judge to promptly reinstate him.