Brazil police arrest ex-aide to Bolsonaro's son

Brazilian police arrested a former aide to President Jair Bolsonaro's son Flavio Thursday in a corruption probe that could prove damaging for the far-right leader and his family.

Fabricio Queiroz, a former driver and fixer for Senator Flavio Bolsonaro when the latter was a Rio de Janeiro state lawmaker, was arrested in an early morning raid in the city of Atibaia, in Sao Paulo state, officials said.

Investigators are probing allegations that "Queiroz took part in a scheme to embezzle the salaries of staff members to then-state legislator Flavio Bolsonaro," the Sao Paulo state prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Flavio Bolsonaro is facing allegations that he skimmed money off the top of his office's staff budget to fund various dirty dealings, including hit squads operated by ex-police officers and dodgy real estate purchases.

The case could prove embarrassing to the president, who ran on an anti-corruption platform in his 2018 election campaign.

Queiroz, 54, who had been on the run, was found at a property belonging to a lawyer who represents Flavio Bolsonaro, said the Sao Paulo prosecutor's office, which ordered the arrest at the request of counterparts in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazilian media reports said the lawyer, Frederick Wassef, also represents the president.

Flavio Bolsonaro, the president's eldest son, said on Twitter he had nothing to fear.

"The truth will prevail!" he wrote.

"In 16 years as a Rio state lawmaker, there was never a single accusation against me. As soon as President Bolsonaro was elected, everything changed. It's a brutal game!"

Prosecutors say the Rio state financial crimes unit detected at least 483 "atypical transactions" in which some 1.2 million reals ($220,000) were transferred to Queiroz's bank account from members of Flavio Bolsonaro's staff.