Minister stated that “nothing was forwarded to the STF” in a press release; PF did not comment
Minister Dias Toffoli, of the (Supreme Federal Court), declared this Friday (March 6, 2026) that, while he was reporting on the investigations into Banco Master, he did not have access to the information found on the cell phone of the institution’s founder, Daniel Vorcaro. According to the minister, he authorized the analysis of the seized cell phones, computers and hard drives, but stated that “nothing was forwarded to the STF”. Eis a (PDF – 225 kB) to note.
In a statement, the cabinet recapped the decisions taken during the period in which Toffoli was in charge of the investigation, from November 28, 2025 to February 12, 2026. The minister said that his last act in charge of the case was to order the PF (Federal Police) to send the material to the Supreme Court.
“I granted all measures requested by the Federal Police and the Attorney General’s Office. Investigations continued to be carried out normally and regularly, without prejudice to the investigation of the facts, and no request for nullity was granted”, he declared.
Toffoli will speak again in the Master case from March 13, when Vorcaro’s preventive detention order will be analyzed by the . Minister André Mendonça, who authorized the 3rd phase of the Compliance Zero operation, sent the decision to the collegiate referendum.
O Poder360 He contacted the PF to ask if he would like to comment on Toffoli’s note. There was no response until the publication of this report. The text will be updated if a statement is sent to this digital newspaper.
On February 12, STF ministers met after a partial report sent by the director general of the PF, Andrei Rodrigues, to the president of the court, Luiz Edson Fachin. At the time, an accusation of suspicion was presented against the case’s then rapporteur, Dias Toffoli.
The ministers, however, considered the request inept and ordered the case to be immediately closed.
As anticipated by the Poder360the document of around 200 pages was evaluated by ministers as a “clandestine and illegal investigation”, as it did not have authorization from the President of the Supreme Court.
UNDERSTAND
On Wednesday (March 4, 2026), the Federal Police launched the 3rd phase of the Compliance Zero operation, authorized by André Mendonça, the new rapporteur of the case. The minister accepted the PF’s request to arrest Vorcaro and 3 others being investigated for signs of involvement in a group dedicated to monitoring and retaliating against Banco Master’s opponents.
In the messages collected, the PF indicated that Vorcaro had asked the , known as Sicário, to attack journalist Lauro Jardim, from the newspaper O Globo.
Mendonça stated in his decision that there was “robust evidence” indicating a risk to the safety of others.
The minister also criticized the position of the PGR (Attorney General’s Office), which spoke out against the arrest of those being investigated. Mendonça said that “regrets” the body’s understanding.
In the decision, the minister also cited evidence of “improper access” to confidential systems of the Federal Police, the Federal Public Ministry and even international organizations, such as Interpol.
The PGR’s opinion, on the other hand, stated that there were no elements that indicate imminent danger that would justify the adoption of precautionary measures against the group.
The PGR, commanded by Paulo Gonet, declared that “cannot be in favor of precautionary requests”.
The following were preventively arrested:
- Daniel Vorcaro, appointed as leader of the criminal organization;
- Fabiano Zettel, investigated for making payments and guiding the intimidation group;
- Marilson Roseno da Silva, retired federal police officer investigated for participating in the group monitoring Vorcaro’s opponents;
- Luiz Phillipe Machado de Moraes Mourão, named as a member of the group “A Turma”.
Searches and seizures were also authorized at 15 addresses linked to those investigated in São Paulo and Minas Gerais. Mendonça also ordered the removal from public positions and the seizure of assets worth up to R$22 billion.
The decision will be analyzed by the 2nd Panel of the STF in a virtual plenary session starting next Friday (13 March 2026). The board is made up of Toffoli, Gilmar Mendes, Kássio Nunes Marques, Luiz Fux and Mendonça himself.
TOFFOLI X PF
Toffoli’s report in the Master case was marked by friction between the minister and the Federal Police. Investigations into possible fraud by Banco Master against the national financial system were forwarded to the STF at the end of 2025, .
One of the first points of divergence occurred on December 24, 2025, when Toffoli ordered statements and a confrontation between Vorcaro, the former president of the Bank of Brasília (BRB), Paulo Henrique Costa, and the director of supervision at the Central Bank of Brazil, Ailton de Aquino. The confrontation was determined by the minister’s office, without a prior request from investigators.
According to Toffoli, the measure was necessary to avoid possible manipulation of evidence or versions of facts. The statements were made on December 30, 2025. During the session, there was friction between the instructing judge from Toffoli’s office, Carlos Vieira Von Adamek, and the PF delegate Janaína Palazzo. THE Poder360 on January 29, 2026.
ZERO COMPLIANCE OPERATION
During the 2nd phase of the operation, on January 14, Toffoli demanded explanations from the PF about a delay in the execution of the judicial measures, initially scheduled for January 13. According to the minister, failure to meet the date could have facilitated the escape of Vorcaro’s brother-in-law, Fábio Zettel.
In response, the general director of the PF stated that the corporation had not failed to act and that the operational difficulties had been previously communicated to the STF. Rodrigues said that the delay occurred due to logistical circumstances and the coincidence with other complex judicial police operations, such as , which investigates deviations from parliamentary amendments.
OPERATIONAL TESTS
Another point of friction involved the fate of the evidence collected by the PF in the 2nd phase of the investigation. Initially, Toffoli ordered that the seized materials be sealed and sent to the STF for examination, with the aim of preventing leaks or dispersion of data.
Hours later, the minister removed the role of examining the material from the Federal Police and transferred the task to the Attorney General’s Office, which began storing the data. In the decision, the minister also criticized the Central Bank, citing “vulnerabilities” in the regulation and supervision of the financial system. Read (PDF – 117 kB).
The PF argued that the measure could hinder the investigation and warned of the risk of remote blocking or logical self-destruction of electronic devices. The following day, Toffoli appointed 4 experts from the Federal Police to access Vorcaro’s cell phone data and other evidence collected in the investigation. Here is it (PDF – 104 kB).
