Owner of Banco Master was arrested by the PF at the airport, when he was about to leave the country; lawyers claim that businessman was going to a meeting in Dubai
Lawyers for , owner of Banco Master, filed a request for habeas corpus on Wednesday (November 19, 2025), claiming that he had no intention of fleeing. The request will be analyzed by judge Solange Salgado, from the (Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region).
Vorcaro, 42 years old, on Tuesday (Nov 18) by the (Federal Police) at Guarulhos airport. He on a private plane bound for Malta. On the same day, the BC (Central Bank) extrajudicially prosecuted Banco Master.
According to the newspaper Folha de S.PauloVorcaro’s defense demands that, if habeas corpus is not granted, the measure be replaced by an electronic ankle monitor, house arrest or prohibition of contacts with other people being investigated.
“The situation, as mere common sense indicates, could be better handled with the adoption, for example, of alternative precautionary measures, such as a ban on contact between those being investigated, or even electronic monitoring and home confinement”says the order.
In addition to Vorcaro, 1 former partner and 3 directors of Master. He is being held in the PF prison in São Paulo.
The lawyers argue that there were no attempts to squander assets or hide values by their client. They claim that the freezing of assets, decreed by the Court, was enough to prevent this from happening.
They also claim that there are no concrete elements that prove that Vorcaro could disrupt the course of the investigation or commit crimes in the current context, after the liquidation of Banco Master.
The defense also denied that Vorcaro would try to escape Brazil. The lawyers said that the banker’s destination was Dubai, where he would participate in a meeting with the fund that would buy Banco Master.
According to the PF, however, the plane was heading to Malta. In habeas corpus, the defense reported that the flight plan included Malta because of “a logistical contingency, since the plane does not have the autonomy to fly from Guarulhos to Dubai, requiring refueling”.
According to the PF, Vorcaro led a fraud scheme in the SFN (National Financial System). The investigation began in 2024, when the BC identified irregularities in Banco Master’s operations and reported the case to the MPF. The fraud, according to Andrei Rodrigues, general director of the PF.
The scheme, according to the PF, consisted of issuing and negotiating false credit bonds. Those involved at Banco Master created credit portfolios without real backing, which were then sold with other financial institutions.
The documents were classified by investigators as “non-existent” (which have no real value), as they do not have proven existence or adequate documentation.
