By authorizing search and seizure measures against Senator Jaques Wagner (PT-BA) this Thursday, Minister André Mendonça, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), repeated a stance already adopted on another front of the investigation into the Banco Master case and avoided determining steps within the Federal Senate’s premises.
The option followed the same logic used previously in the operation that targeted senator Ciro Nogueira (PP-PI). In both cases, interlocutors involved in the investigation stated that the investigators had already gathered elements considered sufficient by other means of obtaining evidence, which reduced the need for physical searches of parliamentary offices.
According to reports made to GLOBO, the predominant assessment was that an investigation within the Senate would produce high institutional strain without necessarily adding relevant information to the investigation.
Members who follow the case maintain that documents, financial records, messages and other elements of interest had already been obtained through breaches of confidentiality, cooperation with other bodies and seizures carried out at external addresses.
Behind the scenes, STF assistants state that the concern was to avoid creating an additional focus of tension between the Judiciary and Legislature. The perception was that an operation on the Senate’s premises could generate political repercussions and questions about a possible invasion of parliamentary prerogatives.
The decision is also in line with recent Supreme Court precedents. Although searches of parliamentary offices are legally possible with judicial authorization, ministers usually require demonstration that the measure is indispensable and that there are no less serious ways of obtaining evidence.
In the case of Jaques Wagner, the measures authorized by Mendonça were concentrated on other addresses linked to the person being investigated. The same occurred in the operation involving Ciro Nogueira, when the Federal Police also did not enter the Senate premises.
Privately, members of the investigation state that the strategy sought to prioritize the proportionality of precautionary measures. The assessment was that the elements already gathered allowed the investigations to move forward without the need for action that could increase the political strain on the case or provoke an institutional clash with Congress.
The Federal Police pointed out that Senator Jaques Wagner was the “central beneficiary” of “economic advantages” paid by members of Banco Master. Among these benefits are payments for a R$2.45 million apartment in Salvador, the use of aircraft linked to Master and a ticket to the box at an international show in Los Angeles that would have cost R$63,300.
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Wagner’s point of connection with the Master case is through the bank’s former partner, Bahian businessman Augusto Lima. The PF identified a message in which the PT member sends Lima details about an apartment he would be interested in purchasing in Salvador. “The unit is 1702 and the price is 2.45 million,” he wrote. The message is dated November 2024. The senator’s defense denies any irregularities.
