Minister Dias Toffoli, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), led a series of changes in guidance on the destination and , which investigates alleged financial fraud involving Banco Master. At least three changes were made within 24 hours.
On Wednesday morning (14), after the start of the operation, Toffoli determined that all assets, documents and electronic devices were collected by the Federal Police.
The order provided that all material remained secure in the court, without external access, until further decision. In a statement, the minister’s office stated that the measure aimed to preserve the evidence, which would be “duly examined by the competent authorities”.
A few hours later, faced with the strangeness and concerns from investigators about the possibility of remote access to electronic devices, Toffoli’s office instructed the Federal Police to .
The determination to centralize the evidence in the Supreme Court, however, generated a strong reaction. PF delegates reported surprise at the order and defended the need to immediately begin extracting the data, at the risk of remote destruction of files and harm to the investigation.
The corporation’s general director, Andrei Rodrigues, formally asked Toffoli to reconsider the decision. There were also technical doubts about the STF’s ability to carry out the expert procedure.
The Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, also requested a review of the determination. He asked that the extraction and analysis of the evidence be carried out by the PGR itself, under the argument that it would be necessary to “adequately form the ministerial opinion” on the crimes investigated and the participation of each target.
Toffoli ended up accepting the attorney general’s request and . The decision represented a setback in relation to the guidance for sending to the STF. According to the minister, the measure will allow the PGR “to have a systemic view of the alleged large-scale crimes, in theory, identified to date.”
In a new move this Thursday (15), Toffoli took another step back and authorized the Federal Police to also have access to the seized material, even though it was held in custody at the PGR. The minister allowed four PF experts, appointed by name by him, to monitor the data extraction and expertise, marking the second setback within the space of one day.
The successive decisions took place after the launch of the second phase of Operation Compliance Zero. The action carried out 42 search and seizure warrants in five states and resulted in the freezing of more than R$5.7 billion in assets, including luxury cars, watches, cash and a revolver. Among the targets are the owner of Banco Master, Daniel Vorcaro, his family members and businesspeople linked to investment funds.
The investigation investigates crimes such as fraudulent management, criminal organization, market manipulation and money laundering. The PF is also investigating possible fraudulent financial operations between Banco Master and funds from Reag Trust, a company suspected of being linked to money laundering schemes identified in the Hidden Carbon operation, which investigates connections between the fuel sector, the PCC and financial companies.
With information from Teo Cury
