The (Supreme Federal Court) and the (Attorney General’s Office) expect to face a dilemma if the plea bargain of the businessman, owner of the , prospers and affects the ministers and , who had connections with the former banker.
Authorities assess that this possibility will represent a challenge for the performance of both the investigation rapporteur, and the Attorney General of the Republic, —both of whom have cordial relations with the two ministers.
Mendonça and Gonet’s interlocutors state, with reservations, that the situation must require both of them to strike a balance between acting prudently, on the one hand, and taking the investigation forward if there is evidence against the ministers, on the other.
Mendonça has told people close to him that the investigation cannot be subject to prejudgment or persecution, but that, if the evidence in the process demonstrates the real involvement of his colleagues in Vorcaro’s web, he will work seriously and move forward.
According to reports made to Sheet by Mendonça’s interlocutors, he takes into account the fact that public opinion demands answers about Master’s financial frauds and, if there is concrete evidence of irregularities, he will not accept that Toffoli and Moraes escape the consequences out of collegiality.
The argument about society’s expectations was recently used by Mendonça in the case of INSS (National Social Security Institute) deviations, but . This group understands that this was one of the main mistakes of Operation Lava Jato and preaches caution so that excesses are not repeated.
Under reservation, a minister told the Sheet that Mendonça should be careful not to overvalue information that is not objectively criminal, under penalty of undermining the population’s trust in the Judiciary and subjecting the court and its members to a new wave of attacks.
In the initial stages of negotiations for a plea agreement, lawyers representing Vorcaro even suggested to investigators that Supreme Court ministers not be mentioned. The idea was rejected because the whistleblower cannot be given the prerogative to select who to hand over and who to spare.
for the plea bargain to be approved by Mendonça, Vorcaro will have to present new evidence and indicate the possibility of recovering the amounts obtained fraudulently. The terms of the agreement jointly between the PGR and the PF (Federal Police).
Mendonça was one of Toffoli’s defenders at the secret meeting held in February between members of the court to debate the report presented by investigators with mention of his colleague. He considered that the facts presented so far were not sufficient to consider the magistrate suspicious.
The episode caused the court to disagree with the PF leadership, as the ministers, including Mendonça, understood that the body not only identified quotes from Toffoli, but went too far and carried out an investigation without supervision from the Supreme Court, which would be irregular.
An authority close to Gonet assesses that, technically, a “half-hearted” agreement cannot be accepted, in which Vorcaro deliberately chooses to leave out certain authorities. At the same time, he admits that any citations to Toffoli and Moraes would place the attorney general, known for his discreet profile, in a delicate situation.
The mentions of Toffoli and Moraes on Vorcaro’s cell phone, seized by the PF as part of Operation Compliance Zero, are at the center of what the court is currently experiencing. The president of the STF, , continues on how to deal with the intensification of wear and tear.
The messages involving Toffoli point to payments made to the company Maridt, which has the minister among its partners. Maridt, in Paraná, to an investment fund used in Master’s fraud gear. The magistrate says that the transaction was duly declared and .
In relation to Moraes, what his wife’s office, lawyer Viviane Barci, signed with Master to represent the interests of the financial institution in court weighs heavily. The minister also met Vorcaro on the day the businessman was arrested, which he denies.
Documents obtained by Sheet They also point to those made by Moraes and Viviane on executive jets from Vorcaro companies between May and October 2025. The minister’s office stated that he “never traveled on any Vorcaro plane or in his company”.
Another minister who was affected by the Master case is Kassio Nunes Marques. Documents indicate that he traveled on a Prime Aviation plane, a company that had Daniel Vorcaro as one of its partners, from Brasília to Maceió, in November.
The trip was organized and paid for by lawyer Camilla Ewerton Ramos, according to the minister himself. She works for the bank.
