The Banco Master scandal has provoked an intense exchange of attacks between government supporters and opponents, who accuse each other of involvement in the suspicious business of Daniel Vorcaro, arrested again last Wednesday (4).
Since last year, when the bank was liquidated, political leaders from both sides have been cited in the case, directly or indirectly, including names from Congress, governors, former ministers and mayors — not to mention the ministers of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) Alexandre de Moraes and Dias Toffoli.
The proposal for a CPI on the financial institution was presented, but senator Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP) has already indicated that.
See what is already known about the banker’s relationships with political leaders and authorities on the right and left:
Antonio Rueda
The breach of confidentiality on Vorcaro’s phone revealed that he offered a helicopter ride to , president of União Brasil, during the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Interlagos, in 2024, and also to the president of the PP, Ciro Nogueira. Rueda did not comment on the topic.
Ciro Nogueira
Vorcaro referred to the president of the , senator (PI), as a “great lifelong friend” in a cell phone message. The parliamentarian presented a proposal in Congress in 2024 that was dubbed the “Master amendment”. It would increase the coverage guarantee for account holders in the (Credit Guarantee Fund) from R$250,000 to R$1 million in the event of liquidation of the financial institution.
The senator says that “he does not and has never maintained any inappropriate conduct related to the case under investigation.”
Claudio Castro
The governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro (PL), was drawn into the scandal with Operation Paper Boat, by the Federal Police, relating to suspicions in the state employees’ pension fund, Rioprevidência, which invested resources in Master.
The TCE-RJ (Court of Auditors of ) also opened an investigation into the investments made by Cedae (Companhia Estadual de Águas e Esgotos do Rio de Janeiro) in the bank.
In January, the governor dismissed Deivis Marcon Antunes, then director-president of Rioprevidência, saying that the government is carrying out an internal procedure to investigate the facts and that the intention is to reinforce the “commitment to protecting civil servants’ pension assets”.
Davi Alcolumbre
The owner of Banco Master said in messages that he had a meeting at the official residence last August, without mentioning by name the president of the House, (União Brasil-AP).
Furthermore, one of the targets of investigations into Master is Jocildo Silva Lemos, who headed Amprev (Amapá Previdência). Lemos was appointed to the institution in 2023 by governor Clécio Luís (União Brasil), but was nominated by Alcolumbre, for whom he was treasurer in the 2022 election campaign.
The Federal Police investigates investments made by the state authority in financial bills issued by Master, with accusations of reckless management. Documents show that, in less than 20 days, three successive applications were approved and executed, totaling almost R$400 million.
Alcolumbre was contacted through the press office, but did not comment on the case.
Guido Mantega
Minister of Finance from 2006 to 2014 (Lula and Dilma Rousseff governments), Mantega was hired to be a consultant for Master. According to Lula himself, it was the former minister who mediated a meeting between the president and Vorcaro in 2024, at the Palácio do Planalto.
Ibaneis Rocha
In March 2025, BRB (Banco de Brasília), linked to the Government of the Federal District, announced the acquisition of 58% of Master’s shares. The initiative ended up in the sights of control bodies, and, in November, a PF operation was launched to investigate the sale of R$12.2 billion in fraudulent payroll loan portfolios to the DF institution.
Vorcaro has already stated that he had discussed the purchase of the bank with (), who confirmed that he had met with the businessman, but said that he had not discussed the topic.
Jair Bolsonaro
The former president’s biggest donor in the 2022 election was the pastor of the Lagoinha Church Fabiano Zettel, Vorcaro’s brother-in-law, who gave R$3 million to Bolsonaro’s campaign.
Zettel was arrested last Wednesday. According to the PF, he was part of Vorcaro’s group responsible for intimidating opponents and people linked to the investigations.
The president of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto, minimized the importance of the transfer, during an interview with GloboNews: “Everyone donates, these people donate for the strength and prestige of Bolsonaro.”
Jaques Wagner
Leader of the Lula government in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA) confirmed that he had appointed Ricardo Lewandowski as a consultant for Banco Master after the former STF minister left the court.
Furthermore, the parliamentarian was Secretary of Economic Development in Bahia when he led the privatization of the state-owned Ebal. Using one of the assets sold, Augusto Lima, who was a partner at Master, created Credcesta, a payroll benefit card used by the bank. Lima and Wagner became friends.
The senator has stated that privatization was a good deal for Bahia.
João Carlos Bacelar
Federal deputy João Carlos Bacelar (PL-BA) was the link that took the Master case to the Supreme Court, still in 2025. The parliamentarian appears in a document seized with Vorcaro about a real estate deal in Trancoso, Bahia. According to the deputy, the document referred to the creation of a fund intended for the construction of the project.
Vorcaro would have shown interest in acquiring part of the project, but the transaction did not move forward, according to the deputy.
João Henrique Caldas
There is an investigation in Maceió (AL), the capital administered by João Henrique Caldas (), due to the investment, made by the local pension institute, of R$ 97 million in financial letters from Master. Maceió Previdência states that investments are regular and that, at the time, the Master was qualified at the Central Bank and the Ministry of Social Security.
The Public Ministry also carries out investigations in other cities, such as Aparecida de Goiânia (GO). The municipal fund invested R$40 million in Master. THE Sheet He tried to contact the city hall, Leandro Vilela (MDB), and the fund, but received no response.
Lula
The President of the Republic met with Vorcaro outside of his official agenda in December 2024, before the accusations against the bank became public.
The president justified the meeting by saying he received all banks in the mandate, the meeting being a request from former minister Guido Mantega. He also stated that he invited the president of the BC, Gabriel Galípolo, and the minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, to the meeting.
According to the president, at the time of their conversation, the banker said that he was being the target of “persecution” and that “there were people interested” in overthrowing him.
“What did I say to him? There will be no political position for or against Banco Master. What there will be will be a technical investigation carried out by the Central Bank. That was the conversation,” said Lula, in an interview in February.
In messages exchanged with his girlfriend, influencer Martha Graeff, Vorcaro praised the meeting: “It was great.”
The owner of the Master was at Planalto on other occasions. There are at least three records of the banker entering the entrance of the Institutional Relations Secretariat, responsible for the government’s political coordination.
Nikolas Ferreira
The federal deputy (PL-MG) used a jet linked to Vorcaro to campaign for then-president Bolsonaro in the second round of . The plane passed through all northeastern capitals and cities in the interior of Minas Gerais between October 20 and 28, 2022.
Nikolas stated that he did not know who owned the aircraft and that, at that time, there was no suspicion about Vorcaro.
Ricardo Lewandowski
Ricardo Lewandowski provided services to the bank, according to him, in the gap between leaving the Supreme Court, in 2023, and becoming Lula’s Minister of Justice, in 2024. However, his law firm, run by his wife and a son, until August 2025. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the Federal Police, which investigates the bank.
At the time the information was revealed, Lewandowski stated that, upon being invited to take over Lula’s portfolio, “he withdrew from his law firm and suspended his registration with the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), ceasing to act in all cases.”
Roberto Campos Neto
It was during the former president’s management that Banco Master was created and grew amid fraud, a fact used by the opposition to link the scandal to Bolsonaro, the president who appointed Campos Neto to the position.
The former president of the BC denies inaction in the case and argues that the monetary authority warned the Master so that he could adjust his conduct to current rules.
Last week, at the home of former Central Bank director Paulo Sérgio Neves de Souza, who served in the role between 2019 and 2023, under the Campos Neto administration. Minister André Mendonça stated, when authorizing the warrants, that Souza acted as a “kind of employee/consultant” for Vorcaro.
Rui Costa
The name of Rui Costa (PT), Minister of the Civil House, appears in Banco Master’s web of relationships because Credcesta, a payroll benefit used by the bank, had a 15-year exclusivity contract during the PT’s management in Bahia, which benefited the product.
Credcesta expanded across the country, reaching 24 states and 176 municipalities by the end of 2024. Now, the benefit is shrouded in accusations of irregularities.
Tarcísio de Freitas
Fabiano Zettel was also the biggest donor to the São Paulo governor’s campaign, (), in 2022. Zettel donated R$2 million to Tarcísio’s candidacy.
