On Monday, the Supreme Court gave Bolsonaro 24 hours to surrender his passports as part of a money laundering investigation. He denies wrongdoing and called the order a "travesty" and a "clear attempt to intimidate me." He did not hand the passports over before the deadline, and his travel documents were then canceled. A senior Federal Police official said he did not leave through any regular migration point. Accounts differ on the date of his departure. One outlet says he left Sunday, before the order. Others give Tuesday, and one says he left before the deadline lapsed.

Much remains unclear: where he is headed, when he will arrive, whether he will seek asylum, and how he got out while the court's deadline was pending. One outlet notes it is also unclear whether he can enter the United States on canceled passports. The U.S. Embassy in Brazil and Bolsonaro's lawyer did not respond to requests for comment. His lawyers told BBC Brasil they were "completely in the dark" about where he is. Paulo Figueiredo, a right-wing influencer and unofficial family spokesperson, declined to comment. Federal officers are checking border crossings to see whether he went to Argentina, and Argentine authorities say they have no record of his entry.

Bolsonaro had not conceded. He said Sunday he would seek to annul the result over alleged voter irregularities, and called a two-hour extension of polling a "dirty trick" that disadvantaged him, though both parties had requested it. His Liberal Party acknowledged Lula's victory on Monday but said the extension "merits investigation." Also on Monday, Bolsonaro said, "I have never thought about leaving the country," and that he intended to lead the opposition to Lula.

He faces other legal trouble. He is under investigation over alleged corruption in the financing of a film about his father, and the Supreme Court has ordered a probe into his campaign over alleged foreign funding.

His brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, lives in the United States. He told podcaster Steven Crowder that a loss would require Flavio to leave the country, though outlets differ on his exact words. Lula has accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaros to restore them to power. Reuters had earlier reported on a U.S. State Department campaign to do so. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has previously alleged that the brothers' father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, was a victim of judicial persecution.

Jair Bolsonaro also went to the United States after refusing to concede the 2022 election to Lula. He later returned to Brazil and was sentenced to 27 years for plotting a coup, following the January 8, 2023 storming of government buildings in Brasilia. He is reported to be under house arrest.