Race for confessions in Banco Master case accelerates and puts high-ranking judicial and political authorities in check

Former BRB president Paulo Henrique Costa – Photo: BRB/Disclosure

#Banco Master

The scandal involving Banco Master, liquidated by the Central Bank in November 2025 due to serious financial irregularities, is gaining new momentum with the fierce competition among informants

Operation Compliance Zero, launched by the Federal Police, is investigating a billion-dollar scheme of fraud in fictitious credit portfolios, money laundering, and bribery payments that allegedly moved more than R$ 12 billion through Banco de Brasília (BRB).

What previously seemed like a case restricted to financial operators now threatens to directly affect ministers of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and figures from the Centrão (center-right political bloc).

Daniel Vorcaro, controller of Banco Master, was arrested for the second time on March 4, 2026, and has already signed a confidentiality agreement with the Federal Police and the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) to negotiate a plea bargain.

His brother-in-law, Fabiano Zettel, is also at the center of the investigations.

Meanwhile, Paulo Henrique Costa (PH), former president of BRB, was arrested on April 16, 2026, for allegedly negotiating bribes worth R$ 146 million in luxury apartments in São Paulo, in exchange for facilitating the purchase of Master by the public bank.

Costa changed lawyers and signaled a willingness to cooperate with the investigation, creating a “race” for plea bargains.

Experts and investigators point out that the plea bargains of Vorcaro and Zettel were aligned to protect certain names.

The entry of PH Costa as a new actor breaks this balance.

As the collaboration agreement requires “new and relevant” information to be validated, the former president of BRB-who acted as a direct operator of the payments-can reveal details that others would prefer to omit.

Sources linked to the investigations indicate that, without concrete new information, Vorcaro’s agreement loses value and may be annulled.

This generates pressure for everyone to reveal as much as possible about the scheme.

The Master case is not limited to bank fraud.

The Federal Police are investigating payments to politicians from the Centrão bloc, such as Antônio Rueda and Ciro Nogueira, as well as the former governor of the Federal District, Ibaneis Rocha, who allegedly discussed the acquisition of the bank.

BRB, a state-owned institution, allegedly released billions for fraudulent operations while Vorcaro maintained indirect control.

The liquidation of Master by the Central Bank occurred after the discovery of a lack of liquidity and serious irregularities, including the issuance of debentures backed by overvalued land and investments from pension funds.

What elevates the case to an institutional level is the alleged involvement of Supreme Court justices.

Dias Toffoli withdrew from the investigation after revelations of family ties: a company linked to the minister’s brothers allegedly negotiated with funds associated with Master, and Toffoli even traveled on a private jet with the bank’s lawyer.

Alexandre de Moraes is also mentioned in messages and contacts with the president of the Central Bank, Gabriel Galípolo, regarding the BRB purchase operation.

Reports indicate that the law firm of Moraes’ wife maintained a multi-million dollar contract with Master (approximately R$ 129 million over three years).

Gilmar Mendes appears on the radar of parallel investigations, although without consolidated public details to date.

The Federal Police and the Attorney General’s Office already possess sufficient evidence to proceed even without complete plea bargains, according to a recent decision by Minister André Mendonça, the case’s rapporteur at the Supreme Federal Court (STF).

This reduces the bargaining power of those under investigation and increases the risk that “aligned” informants will lose benefits if they omit facts.

The competition between PH Costa and the Vorcaro-Zettel duo transforms the process into a race: whoever reveals more about higher authorities comes out ahead.

The scandal recalls the end of Lava Jato, when investigations focused on the relationship between corruption and the Judiciary.

At the time, operations such as the one involving lawyers close to the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) and the Supreme Federal Court (STF) helped to curb the momentum of the task force.

Today, the Master reveals a sophisticated financial engineering scheme that allegedly involved the collusion of regulators and market operators.

Pension funds, such as Rioprevidência, lost billions in high-risk investments approved in an atypical manner.

The CVM (Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission) and the Central Bank face criticism for omission or delay in acting.

Investigators warn that, to be valid, any plea bargain must include the return of assets, the location of hidden assets (real estate, jets, jewelry), and a complete description of the chain of command.

Vorcaro allegedly hid almost R$ 5 billion in assets.

Without this, there is no agreement.

The Federal Police have already mapped transfers, messages, and contracts that link the banker to public decision-makers.

The most explosive development is the possibility that the ministers mentioned will be formally investigated.

Toffoli has already recused himself from the investigation at certain stages.

Moraes denies any wrongdoing, stating that his contacts with the Central Bank concerned international sanctions against him.

The current rapporteur, André Mendonça, is seen as a guarantor of individual rights and has been working to maintain preventive detentions, signaling that the Federal Police has a solid basis for their investigations.

While Brasília is experiencing the “end of the day” of a cycle of impunity-as defined by analysts-the Master case exposes systemic weaknesses: state-owned banks used as cash cows, slow regulators, and dangerous relationships between economic power and the Judiciary.

The race for plea bargains may accelerate the truth or, conversely, generate more legal controversies.

What is certain is that the final chapter has not yet been written.

New revelations are expected to emerge in the coming days or weeks.

Published in 04/26/2026 21h10

Portuguese version

Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.

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