Bahamian court authorizes search for Master Bank assets

The request was made by the EFB itself before the Bahamas Court months after the Central Bank decreed the liquidation of Master, in November 2025. The liquidation ended the institution’s operations and transferred its management to the EFB.

According to the decision, the Bahamian Court understood that the procedure conducted in Brazil could be recognized as a foreign process, allowing the liquidator to act in the territory of the Bahamas on behalf of the institution. The measure provides legal support for the EFB to seek information, identify assets and adopt legal measures related to assets that may exist in the country. In practice, the court’s approval allows the liquidator to attempt to locate assets, documents, accounts or financial structures linked to the Master Bank in the Bahamas. The decision also opens the way for requests for asset protection.

This type of measure is common when a bank or company in liquidation has money, investments, real estate, equity interests or other assets outside the country of origin. In these cases, the person responsible for the liquidation needs to obtain judicial recognition abroad in order to locate, preserve and eventually recover these assets for the benefit of creditors, which the EFB achieved through the approval of the Supreme Court.

The Bahamian Court’s decision comes amid investigations into the Master case in Brazil, which investigates possible fraud, irregular management and diversion of bank resources to finance illegal activities.