By The Rio Times | Created at 2026-08-27 23:46:39 | Updated at 2026-08-28 04:08:52
4 hours ago
BRAZIL · ECONOMY
Key Facts
—What happened: Federal Police planned to question Banco Master founder Daniel Vorcaro on 27 August over alleged paid informants inside the Central Bank.
—The claim: Police say a “Master group” chat linked Vorcaro to two supervision employees who leaked privileged information for money.
—The catch: The videoconference hearing never happened; a prison internet failure pushed it to Friday 28 August.
—Why it matters: It would be Vorcaro’s first interrogation since his March arrest and since two plea-bargain proposals were rejected.
—The bigger case: The bank was liquidated in November 2025, stranding more than one million deposit-certificate investors.
Brazil’s Federal Police were set to question Banco Master founder Daniel Vorcaro on Thursday over alleged “spies” inside the Central Bank. The hearing was postponed to Friday after the internet failed at the prison where he is held.
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What the police wanted to ask
The Federal Police, Brazil’s national police force, had scheduled the hearing for 10 a.m. on Thursday 27 August. Vorcaro was to appear by videoconference from custody in Brasília.
The inquiry is narrow and specific. Investigators suspect Vorcaro kept “spies”, the word the police themselves use, inside the Central Bank’s banking supervision department.
According to CNN Brasil’s reporting, officers found a WhatsApp group called “grupo Master” on Vorcaro’s phone. It included two Central Bank servants, Belline Santana and Paulo Sérgio Neves de Souza, both from banking supervision.
The messages allegedly shared privileged information in exchange for financial advantages. These remain police allegations, not proven facts, and no conviction exists on this point.
A hearing that never happened
The session collapsed for a mundane reason. The internet connection at the Papuda prison complex in Brasília, where Vorcaro is detained, was too unstable to hold the videoconference.
Defense lawyer Daniel Bialski said his client waited for hours for the signal to return. The testimony was rescheduled for Friday 28 August, according to Poder360.
The delay matters because of what the hearing represents. It would be Vorcaro’s first interrogation since his preventive arrest in March.
It is also his first since the police and the Prosecutor-General’s Office formally rejected two plea-bargain proposals. His defense says he will answer every question, limited to the inquiry’s scope.
The bank that failed
Banco Master grew fast by selling high-yield deposit certificates to retail investors. More than one million people bought them, drawn by returns well above the market average.
The Central Bank ordered the bank’s extrajudicial liquidation in November 2025. A last attempt to sell the bank to BRB, the state-owned Bank of Brasília, had already collapsed under scrutiny.
The case now sits at the Supreme Court. Justice André Mendonça is the rapporteur, after Justice Dias Toffoli stepped aside in February.
Ten phases of Operation Compliance Zero
The investigation runs under the name Operation Compliance Zero. It began in November 2025, when Vorcaro was first arrested while trying to leave Brazil.
He was released weeks later, then arrested again in March 2026. Police said at the time that he ran a group that intimidated adversaries and paid bribes to two Central Bank employees.
The operation has since reached far beyond the bank itself. A January phase blocked or seized more than R$5.7 billion (US$1.1 billion) in assets.
Later phases targeted the former BRB president, two sitting senators, a former Rio de Janeiro governor and Vorcaro’s own father. A July phase looked at the alleged monitoring of journalists who contradicted the banker’s interests.
What to watch next
Friday’s rescheduled testimony stays limited to the two Central Bank servants. Other hearings are planned for the other strands of the investigation.
Investigators see the session as a chance for Vorcaro to explain his side. Without a plea deal, what he says on Friday carries unusual weight.
For the one million savers still waiting, the questioning is a sideshow to the real issue. The liquidation process will decide how much of their money ever comes back.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Banco Master’s Vorcaro questioned on 27 August?
No. The videoconference hearing was postponed to Friday 28 August after the internet connection failed at the Papuda prison complex in Brasília, according to his defense.
What are the alleged “spies” inside Brazil’s Central Bank?
Federal Police suspect Vorcaro paid two banking-supervision employees, Belline Santana and Paulo Sérgio Neves de Souza, for privileged information. The claims remain unproven allegations.
What happened to Banco Master?
The Central Bank ordered its extrajudicial liquidation in November 2025. More than one million investors had bought its deposit certificates, and the case is now before the Supreme Court.
Sources: CNN Brasil and Poder360 reporting on the Federal Police inquiry. Exchange rate: R$5.1503 per US dollar on 27 August 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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