The Banco Master scandal is an ongoing political scandal in Brazil, involving investigations into alleged financial fraud in private bank Banco Master and the political dealings of its major shareholder, businessman Daniel Vorcaro. The scandal emerged in late 2025 with the launch of Operation Compliance Zero by the Federal Police and the liquidation of the financial institution by the Central Bank, as well as Vorcaro's arrest in November. It has been described as the country's biggest ever banking fraud scandal, with evidence of involvement of political authorities, Central Bank employees and members of the judiciary.
The scandal involves the offering of investment securities with promises of large returns, even though the bank did not have the assets and financial resources it required to maintain as collateral. The operation functioned, in practice, as a kind of pyramid scheme, in which applications from new customers covered the deficit of previous customers. The bank also overvalued the property and assets it offered as collateral.
The Central Bank of Brazil, responsible for the oversight of financial institutions, had failed in preventing fraud. Financial institutions linked to state governments – such as the Banco de Brasília (BRB) – invested large sums in Banco Master in transactions deemed suspicious. Brazilian press also revealed that Vorcavo and Banco Master sought to cultivate relationships with officials at multiple levels of government – federal, state, and municipal, as well as within the judiciary – to offer them bargains, such as trips in private jets, parties, financial support in electoral campaigns, and service contracts, along others.
The Federal Police's investigations point to a criminal organization with four main cores of operation: a financial core, which was responsible for structuring frauds against the financial system; an institutional corruption core, aimed at co-opting Central Bank employees; a core for asset concealment and money laundering, using shell companies; and a core for intimidation and obstruction of justice, responsible for the illegal surveillance of opponents, journalists and officials.
News pieces since the end of 2025 indicate that multiple public figures had, supposedly, direct access and financial relations with Daniel Vorcaro through the broadly inclusive ramifications of the scandal between politicians, members of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and state governments. The press indicates that those who had received money from Banco Master, amongst others, Guido Mantega (a million reais per month), Ricardo Lewandowski (6 million reais to his family's office) and Viviane Barci de Moraes, wife of minister Alexandre de Moraes (a 129 million reais contract paid in portions of 3,6 million per month – interrupted with the bank's liquidation). Later, in April 2026, it was disclosed more politicians which received money from Banco Master, including the ex-president of the Republic Michel Temer, ex-mayor of Salvador ACM Neto, and the then president of the União Brasil party Antônio de Rueda. The investigations have also implicated senators Ciro Nogueira (former Chief of Staff under Jair Bolsonaro), Flávio Bolsonaro (son of former president Jair Bolsonaro and presidential candidate), and Jaques Wagner (Lula government's leader in the Federal Senate).
The scandal implicates Vorcaro, who was a major shareholder in Banco Master, which operated in Faria Lima, São Paulo. Vorcaro was arrested in November 2025 as he attempted to flee Brazil. Investigators uncovered ties between Vorcaro and members of the Supreme Federal Court.
Brazilian state-run bank Banco de Brasília is expected to set aside over 5 billion reais ($970 million) to cover transactions with the failed lender. According to estimates by Brazil's Federal Police, the bank's missing funds may reach 12 billion reais ($2.2 billion), and a minimum of 1.6 million people may have been affected. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad stated this could be “the biggest bank fraud” in Brazilian history.
Timeline
2025
28 March: BRB (Banco de Brasília) announces that it will acquire Banco Master. 17 June: Brazil's antitrust authority (CADE) approves BRB's acquisition of Banco Master. 19 August: The Federal District Legislative Chamber approves BRB's acquisition of Banco Master. 3 September: The Central Bank rejects BRB's acquisition of Banco Master. 17 November: Fictor Group announces the acquisition of Banco Master with an investment of R$ 3 billion (approximately US$600 million). Later in the night, Daniel Vorcaro is arrested at the airport while attempting to leave the country on a private jet bound for Malta. 18 November: The Federal Police launch Operation Compliance Zero. Later in the day, the Central Bank ordered the extrajudicial liquidation of Banco Master. 28 November: Vorcaro's defense requests that the case fall under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Federal Court. 29 November: One day after being selected as rapporteur of the case at the Supreme Court, Justice Dias Toffoli traveled on a private jet to Peru with Augusto Botelho, the lawyer representing Banco Master's compliance director. Later in the day, The Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region ordered the release of Daniel Vorcaro from prison. 2 December: Justice Dias Toffoli orders the case involving Banco Master to be placed under seal. 3 December: Justice Dias Toffoli orders that all investigations related to the Banco Master case be handled exclusively by the Supreme Court. 11 December: The press reported that the law firm of Viviane Barci de Moraes, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, had a contract with Banco Master providing for payments totaling R$131 million (approximately US$26 million) over a 36-month period. 18 December: The rapporteur of the case at the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), Justice Jhonatan de Jesus, set a deadline for the Central Bank to provide a written justification for the extrajudicial liquidation of Banco Master, raising the possibility that the monetary authority may have acted ‘precipitously’ and disregarded less drastic alternatives.” 22 December: The press reported that Justice Alexandre de Moraes held discussions about Banco Master with Central Bank President Gabriel Galípolo. Later in the day, Moraes and Galípolo issued separate official statements confirming that the meetings took place, but denying that they discussed the Banco Master case. Both stated that the conversations were about the effects of the application of the Magnitsky Act on Moraes. 24 December: Justice Dias Toffoli schedules a confrontation hearing for December 30 between Daniel Vorcaro, Central Bank Supervision Director Ailton Aquino, and a representative of BRB. On the same day, the press reported that Justice Alexandre de Moraes had allegedly called Galípolo around six times to discuss the Banco Master case. 26 December: The Central Bank questions the Supreme Federal Court about the confrontation hearing involving Ailton Aquino. 27 December: Brazilian Banking Federation (Febraban) and other financial associations issue a statement in defense of the Central Bank and its autonomy. 28 December: The press reported that Justice Alexandre de Moraes dined at Daniel Vorcaro's mansion in Brasília with other authorities in late 2024. 29 December: The Central Bank submitted its formal response to the TCU, explaining the technical and legal reasons that led it to order the liquidation of Banco Master. The documentation was requested by the court as part of the proceedings examining the regulator's actions. 30 December: After Toffoli backed down on the confrontation hearing, the Federal Police separately heard the testimonies of Daniel Vorcaro and former BRB president Henrique Costa. Ailton Aquino was excused from giving testimony.
2026
2 January: The TCU authorized an on-site technical inspection of the documents held by the Central Bank regarding the liquidation of Banco Master. TCU auditors were granted direct access to internal notes, legal opinions, and records related to the case in order to reconstruct the decision-making process. 5 January: Justice Jhonatan de Jesus strengthened the inspection procedure, deeming the previously submitted documentation insufficient and requiring additional elements to assess whether the Central Bank observed principles such as reasoning, proportionality, and coherence in deciding on the liquidation. The court also considered the possibility of adopting a precautionary measure to protect assets related to the case. 15 January: The Central Bank of Brazil ordered the liquidation of the Reag fund in light of the multibillion-dollar scheme involving Banco Master. The fund had previously been targeted in a major operation by the São Paulo Public Prosecutor's Office against a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme in the fuel sector involving members of the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC). 21 January: The Central Bank of Brazil ordered the liquidation of Will Bank, a financial institution that is part of the Banco Master group. 23 January: The Federal Police launched Operation Paper Boat as part of the investigations into the Banco Master case. The operation targets suspected irregular financial transactions at Rioprevidência, the fund that manages the assets of retirees and pensioners in the state of Rio de Janeiro. 2 February: The financial arm of the Fictor Group, which attempted to acquire Banco Master, has filed for judicial recovery (bankruptcy protection). 11 February: Justice Jhonatan de Jesus, the rapporteur for the Master case at the TCU, restricted the Central Bank's access to the case proceedings. Later that day, a Federal Police forensic analysis found a reference to Justice Dias Toffoli on Daniel Vorcaro's cellphone. The findings were forwarded to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Edson Fachin, while a request was filed seeking Toffoli's disqualification as the case's rapporteur. In response, Toffoli's office stated that the request submitted by the Federal Police seeking to declare his recusal is based on “speculation” and lacks legal grounds. 12 February: A closed-door joint meeting with all members of the Supreme Court was held to discuss the case. Shortly afterward, the Court issued a unanimous statement saying that it was “not a proper case for an allegation of recusal,” and that it recognizes “the full validity of the acts carried out by Justice Dias Toffoli,” while expressing “personal support for Justice Dias Toffoli, respecting the dignity of His Excellency, as well as the absence of any grounds for recusal or disqualification.” Soon after the meeting ended, Toffoli decided to step down as rapporteur of the Banco Master case. Justice André Mendonça was randomly selected as the new rapporteur. 13 February: Justice André Mendonça held a meeting with Federal Police officers involved in the investigations into Banco Master. Mendonça asked the officers for a general overview of the investigation, an assessment of what has already been done, and the next steps. 25 February: The Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on organized crime in the Federal Senate approved the summoning of two brothers of Justice Dias Toffoli, former Central Bank president Roberto Campos Neto, and former Finance Minister Paulo Guedes. It also authorized the breach of the tax, telephone, and telematic secrecy of Banco Master and Maridt (a family company owned by the Toffoli brothers). The Committee further ordered hearings with Daniel Vorcaro and other executives linked to the financial institution. Finally, it approved invitations to hear Justices Dias Toffoli and Alexandre de Moraes, Central Bank president Gabriel Galípolo, as well as attorney Viviane Barci, Moraes's wife.