Brazil’s far-right president has accused Leonardo DiCaprio of funding non-profit groups he blames for burning down the Amazon rainforest in a string of unsubstantiated claims.

Since coming into office, Jair Bolsonaro has emboldened cattle ranchers and loggers looking to clear the world’s biggest rainforest for farmland – prompting international condemnation over ongoing fires in the region.

However, Mr Bolsonaro has since aimed to turn the blame on his detractors by accusing foreign NGOs of setting the fires themselves to gain funding for projects.

Now he has turned his ire on actor DiCaprio, stating without providing evidence that the Hollywood actor was funding groups setting fires.

“DiCaprio is a cool guy, isn’t he? Giving money to set the Amazon on fire,” the president said to supporters in Brasilia.

Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Fire rages in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Rondonina on August 23 Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billlows from burning tracts of the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Para on August 23 AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Fire rages in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Rondonina on August 23 EPA Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Land in the Amazon rainforest left scorched in the fires in the Brazilian state of Rondonina on August 23 AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondonia, Brazil on August 23 AFP Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Fire tears through a farm in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso AP Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures An area of the Amazon rainforest left scorched in the fires in the Brazilian state of Amazonas on August 24 AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Satellite images show a series of fires in the southwest Brazilian state of Rondonia on August 15 AP Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondonia, Brazil Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures A satellite image released by NASA shows the active fires that have been detected in the Amazon region EPA Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Amazonas, Brazil Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondonia, Brazil Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondonia, Brazil Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Amazonas, Brazil Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Indigenous people from the Mura tribe wallk in a deforested area inside the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Amazonas on August 20 Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Fire tears through a farm in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso AP Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows from a stretch of fire in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Rondonia on 23 August AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Amazonas, Brazil Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Indigenous people from the Mura tribe wallk in a deforested area inside the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Amazonas on August 20 Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows from a stretch of fire in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Rondonia on 23 August AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures A view of logs felled illegally in the Amazon rainforest are seen in sawmills in the Brazilian state of Amazonas on August 22 Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures A scorched patch of land in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil on 20 August EPA Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Several fires are seen burning in the Amazon rainforest in this satellite image taken by NASA on 11 August AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows from a stretch of fire in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Rondonia on 23 August AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures The sunsets behind clouds and smoke from fires in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Rondonia on 18 August EPA

The criticism of DiCaprio and environmental activists follows a police raid at the headquarters of two non-profit groups in the Amazonian state of Para earlier this week.

Local police also arrested four volunteer firefighters who they say are under investigation for allegedly igniting fires to obtain funding from sympathetic donors.

A judge later ordered their release after the four said they had done nothing wrong.

DiCaprio’s environmental organisation Earth Alliance has pledged $5m (£3.8m) to help protect the Amazon after a surge in fires destroyed large parts of the rainforest in July and August.

But the actor and committed environmentalist said in a statement that his group had not funded either of the two non-profits named by investigators so far.

Aerial footage shows Amazon wildfires burning and devastation left behind

“While worthy of support, we did not fund the organisations targeted,” the statement read.

“The future of these irreplaceable ecosystems is at stake and I am proud to stand with the groups protecting them.”

Figures from Brazil’s space agency show levels of deforestation in the Amazon have hit their highest rate in more than a decade.

Loss of forest between August 2018 and July this year is up by 30 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier, according to official data released on Monday by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research.

The total level of deforestation recorded was 9,762 square kilometres – the greatest area of rainforest levelled since 2008 – amounting to over 2,000 football pitches a day.