British magazine reports on Banco Master scandal

The text cites Daniel Volcaro’s exorbitant spending on real estate, private jets, a luxury hotel, a football team and parties, since he took over leadership of the business in 2019. In September, Vorcaro suddenly tried to sell the company, which raised an alert at the Central Bank, which began an investigation against Banco Master, whose business model was based on the sale of bank deposit certificates at high interest rates, even without the bank having liquidity.

Shortly after the discovery, Vorcaro was arrested while trying to board a private jet to Dubai.

A Economist recalled that the billion-dollar fraud left a gigantic loss for the Deposit Guarantee Fund (FGTS), which will disburse between US$7.5 billion and US$10 billion to reimburse depositors, the largest compensation of this type in the history of Brazil.

The British magazine also mentioned that the Master scandal had repercussions beyond the banking sector due to the institution’s owner’s relationship with the Brazilian elite. “The case exposed links between politicians, financial market bigwigs and the judiciary in Brasília, the capital, damaging the reputation of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and Congress.”

Alleged links between Banco Master and the families of Alexandre de Moraes and Dias Toffoli

A Economist cites investigations that showed a connection between Banco Master and a law firm run by the wife of STF minister Alexandre de Moraes.

“The bank had signed a contract worth US$24 million, lasting three years, with a law firm run by the wife of Alexandre de Moraes, an influential judge of the Federal Supreme Court”, cites the publication.

The magazine then mentions information from an unidentified newspaper, which revealed continuous contacts between Moraes and Gabriel Galípolo, president of the Central Bank, before the liquidation of Banco Master.

“Mr. Moraes states that he and Mr. Galípolo met to discuss matters unrelated to Banco Master. However, his authoritarian behavior raised suspicions. On January 14, he opened an investigation against the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) and the Federal Revenue Service to determine whether there was a leak of information about the contract”, details the text.

A Economist also cites the involvement of minister Dias Toffoli in investigations against the financial institution. “Mr. Toffoli traveled on a private jet with a lawyer from Banco Master at almost the same time that the Supreme Court’s lottery system appointed him to lead the case against the company.”

It was later discovered that Vorcaro’s brother-in-law, Fabiano Zettel, had invested more than US$1 million in a resort that belonged to Toffoli’s brothers.

“There is no evidence that Mr. Toffoli knew about the matter,” the magazine says, “however, these ties reinforce the impression among Brazilian voters that the country’s Supreme Court lacks impartiality.”