The founder of Master Bank, Daniel Vorcaro, signed a confidentiality agreement with the Federal Police and the Attorney General’s Office on Friday, March 19, 2026, marking the initial step toward a potential plea bargain. The agreement comes as Vorcaro is under investigation for alleged financial crimes. He is currently being held at the Federal Police headquarters in Brasília.
The possibility of Vorcaro’s cooperation raises concerns for numerous authorities across Brazil’s three branches of government and other sectors in Brasília. Reports indicate Vorcaro established relationships with ministers of the Supreme Federal Court and politicians, some through contracts involving their family members or companies connected to them. This development underscores the potential for a wide-ranging investigation stemming from the case.
Guido Mantega and the Presidential Office
Economist Guido Mantega reportedly lobbied on behalf of Master Bank during the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Mantega served as Finance Minister from 2006 to 2015, throughout Lula’s first and second terms and the first term of Dilma Rousseff.
Mantega met with Marco Aurélio Santana Ribeiro, Lula’s chief of staff, at least five times in 2024. During their most recent meeting on December 4, 2024, Mantega was accompanied by Vorcaro, though the banker’s presence was not publicly listed on Ribeiro’s schedule.
Following the meeting, Mantega and Vorcaro requested a meeting with Lula, which the president granted. The meeting took place in the presidential office and was attended by several ministers and Gabriel Galípolo, who was then a director at the Central Bank and later became its president in January 2025. Campos Neto was not informed of the meeting.
Central Bank
Representatives from Master Bank held 65 meetings with members of the Central Bank’s leadership since the financial institution’s founding in 2018.
There were 24 meetings during the six years Roberto Campos Neto served as president (2019-2024). The remaining 41 meetings occurred in 2025 under Galípolo’s leadership.
According to the Federal Police, two Central Bank employees were allegedly providing information to the former banker:
- Paulo Sérgio Souza – held the position of Deputy Head of the Central Bank’s Banking Supervision Department.
- Belline Santana – served as Head of the Central Bank’s Banking Supervision Department.
Alexandre de Moraes
Journalist Malu Gaspar, writing in O Globo, reported that Vorcaro sent messages to Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes when he was arrested on November 17, 2025. In two messages, Vorcaro asked, “Did you manage to block it?” The subject of the question remains unclear.
The messages were found on one of Vorcaro’s cell phones seized by the Federal Police. There are no responses from Moraes. The Justice denied that the messages were sent to him.
Viviane Barci de Moraes, the Justice’s wife and partner at the Barci de Moraes Law Firm, received R$80 million from Master Bank over 22 months for services rendered to the financial institution. The contract was signed in April 2025, coinciding with negotiations for the sale of Master Bank to BRB (Banco de Brasília).
Dias Toffoli
Justice Dias Toffoli of the Supreme Federal Court served as the rapporteur in the Master Bank case from November 28, 2025, to February 12, 2026.
Maridt Participações, owned by Toffoli and his brothers, held a one-third stake in the Tayayá resort in Ribeirão Claro (PR). It sold part of its share to the Arleen fund, controlled by Reag, an investment firm linked to Master Bank, in September 2021. Another portion was sold to PHD Holding in February 2025.
According to a report in O Estado de S. Paulo, Fabiano Zettel, Vorcaro’s nephew and a pastor and businessman, is a stakeholder in one of the funds that purchased shares in Arleen.
Toffoli stated through a note that he never directly received funds from Vorcaro or Zettel. He similarly asserted in the note that he only became rapporteur in the Master Bank case after Maridt’s stake in Tayayá was sold.
The Justice stepped down as rapporteur in the investigations into the Master Bank case on February 12, 2026. André Mendonça assumed the role. Toffoli recused himself from ruling on Vorcaro’s arrest on March 11, 2026.
Ricardo Lewandowski
Lawyer Ricardo Lewandowski served as a Justice of the Supreme Federal Court from March 2006 to April 2023, and as Minister of Justice from February 2024 to January 2026, in the Lula administration.
Lewandowski stated that he provided legal consulting services to Master Bank after retiring from the Supreme Federal Court, but did not specify the timeframe.
A report by Metrópoles indicated that Lewandowski Advocacia maintained a contract with Master Bank from August 2023 to September 2025.
Lewandowski was a partner in the firm until January 17, 2024. His sons, Enrique de Abreu Lewandowski and Yara de Abreu Lewandowski, continued as partners. Master Bank paid the firm R$250,000 per month for legal consulting, totaling R$6.5 million over the contract period.
ACM Neto
A report in O Globo reported that A&M Consultoria, owned by ACM Neto, received R$3.6 million from Master Bank and Reag, a fund manager linked to the bank. The payments were made from June 2023 to May 2024.
ACM Neto is the vice president of União Brasil and served as the mayor of Salvador from 2013 to 2020. He is a candidate for governor of Bahia and stated that the company received the payments while he was not holding public office.
Antonio Rueda
A report by Piauí reported that the president of União Brasil, Antonio Rueda, and his sister, Maria Emília Rueda, provided legal services to Master Bank. Their firm, Rueda & Rueda, maintained a contract with Master Bank in 2023 and 2024. The contract values were not disclosed. Rueda stated, according to the report, that the operate was “legitimate professional activity.”
Jaques Wagner
A report by Metrópoles reported that Master Bank contracted with the company owned by Bonnie de Bonilha, the daughter-in-law of Senate Majority Leader Jaques Wagner (PT-BA).
The company received R$11 million from Master Bank in 2021 for services in the area of consigned credit. Bonilha is the wife of Eduardo Sodré, Bahia’s Secretary of Environment and Wagner’s stepson.
Hugo Motta
A report by Metrópoles reported that Bianca Medeiros, the sister-in-law of Chamber of Deputies President Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), received a R$22 million loan from Master Bank.
Medeiros received the loan in 2024 to purchase land in João Pessoa. She used shares in ETC as collateral, and stated that Motta has no connection to ETC.
Ibaneis Rocha
A report by Malu Gaspar in O Globo reported that the law office of the son of the Federal District Governor, Ibaneis Rocha (MDB), received R$43 million from Reag, which is linked to Master Bank. The payment was made in 2023.
The office of lawyer Caio Barros received the payment in 2023 for the sale of credit for attorney’s fees in the collection of court orders.
Another report in O Globo had previously reported that Barros’ office sold R$38 million in credit for R$10.3 million in 2024. Of the sale amount, R$6.3 million went to the Engels Muniz firm, which participated in the negotiation.
