Defeated presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro has arrived in the United States, sources have told the BBC, just hours after Brazil cancelled his passports. The right-wing candidate departed the country following a Supreme Court order for him to surrender his travel documents as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering.

Bolsonaro, who has not been charged and denies the allegations, missed a deadline to hand over his passports to authorities. This prompted widespread speculation about his whereabouts and potential departure from Brazil. Sources close to the investigation informed BBC Brasil and BBC Mundo that Bolsonaro met with his younger brother, Eduardo, in Florida.

The reported arrival in the US came after a senior US official confirmed that the State Department would issue visas and allow entry for Bolsonaro and his family. The BBC has reached out to the White House, the State Department, and embassies in both the US and Brazil for comment.

On Monday, Brazil's Supreme Court mandated that Bolsonaro surrender his passports to the police within 24 hours, initiating the probe into alleged money laundering. At the time, Bolsonaro stated his intention to remain in Brazil to lead the opposition against his left-wing rival, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who secured victory in the election on Sunday.

Following the missed deadline, Bolsonaro's lawyers informed BBC Brasil that they had no knowledge of his movements or current location. "We knew nothing about this, and we still have no information about what happened," one lawyer stated. Bolsonaro has not issued any public statements since a video he posted on social media on Monday afternoon.

Federal officers reportedly checked border crossings to ascertain if Bolsonaro had traveled to neighboring Argentina. However, Argentine authorities have confirmed to the BBC that there is no record of the senator entering the country via any official border crossing.

Bolsonaro is already facing scrutiny in a separate investigation concerning the financing of a film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. The former president himself is under house arrest after a conviction for plotting a coup. Another inquiry focuses on alleged connections to a Brazilian lawyer accused of laundering over $1 billion through a fraudulent scheme. Police indicated earlier this month that Bolsonaro had access to bank accounts linked to the lawyer's company.

Bolsonaro has refuted claims of doing business with the lawyer and described the passport confiscation as an act of intimidation. Additionally, Brazil's Supreme Court ordered an examination of Flávio Bolsonaro's electoral campaign on Tuesday, investigating alleged foreign funding. The 45-year-old senator suffered a significant defeat to Lula in Sunday's presidential run-off election, a result that defied earlier expectations.