Brazil’s Federal Police carried out a search warrant in Brasília on Friday in the second phase of Operation Make Up, an investigation into suspected diversion of parliamentary amendment funds connected to organisations linked to Dark Horse, a film about former president Jair Bolsonaro. The warrant was authorised by Supreme Federal Court Justice Flávio Dino and targeted a person investigators said had not been located during the operation’s first phase.¹

Both accounts say the inquiry is examining possible embezzlement, document fraud, money laundering, criminal organisation and procurement-related offences. Those are allegations under investigation, not findings of guilt. The report from the left describes the new search as part of a broader inquiry into suspected financial and operational links among entities run by producer Karina Ferreira da Gama, contractors and Go Up Entertainment, the film’s producer. It says federal auditors identified possible problems including payments for sports materials without proof of delivery and inconsistencies in project accounts.²

The right-leaning account places greater weight on the narrower target of the second phase and on the underlying parliamentary allocations. It says the Supreme Court is examining suspected diversion of R$2 million sent through two amendments indicated by federal deputy Mário Frias to the Instituto Conhecer Brasil, funds intended for social projects. Investigators have also examined transfers between businesses tied to the institute and Go Up Entertainment, where Frias served as executive producer.¹

The accounts converge on the central facts: the first phase, on September 10, involved searches in several states and the federal district, and Frias and Gama were among its targets. They differ chiefly in emphasis. One highlights audit findings and wider transactions, including reported transfers to companies whose technical capacity was questioned; the other notes that police have not detailed the conduct attributed to the person targeted in this latest search.²

Frias has previously denied irregularities, calling the first operation a “smokescreen.”¹