São Paulo newspaper says there was an error in the title of a report published on April 8 suggesting a link between the STF minister and Daniel Vorcaro, founder of Banco Master
The newspaper published on Saturday (April 18, 2026) a note (for subscribers) in which it suggested there was a link between minister Gilmar Mendes, of the Federal Supreme Court, and businessman Daniel Vorcaro, founder of Banco Master and the Compliance Zero operation. The São Paulo newspaper’s explanation was published in the printed and digital versions of the vehicle.
The report that was corrected had been published on the Estadão on April 8, 2026 and, the following day, in the printed version of the newspaper. The now corrected one had the following title: “Gilmar Mendes traveled to Brasília on a plane from Vorcaro’s company on his way back from his brother’s inauguration in MT”. The newspaper said in its note that the statement did not correspond to the full content of the report.
The trip described by Estadão was held on January 1, 2025. Gilmar Mendes was returning from Diamantino (the minister’s hometown), in Mato Grosso, to Brasília. He had participated in the inauguration of his brother, Chico Mendes, as mayor of the municipality. The report associated the minister with Vorcaro because the magistrate had flown through the company PrimeYou, which at the time had the banker as one of its partners.
In the note in which it was explained, the Estadão clarified that Gilmar Mendes traveled as a guest of Marcos Molina, president of the (Board of Directors of Marfrig), one of the largest producers of animal protein in Brazil and a friend of the minister for around two decades. “The presence of Gilmar Mendes on the flight, between Diamantino (MT) and Brasília (DF), was not due to the fact that the plane, at the time, belonged to a company, PrimeYou, in which Vorcaro had a stake. Gilmar traveled as a guest of Marcos Molina, president of the Board of Directors of Marfrig (MBRF)”stated the newspaper.
According to the newspaper, the businessman offered a ride on the aircraft. “Molina has a share of the aircraft operated by PrimeYou”stated the Estadãowho also declared that the businessman has no relationship “personal or commercial with Vorcaro”.
The original report included Gilmar Mendes in a list of Supreme Court ministers who would have had business relationships with Vorcaro. The newspaper stated that the record was also mistaken.
Report from the newspaper “O Estado de S.Paulo” on April 9, 2026, in which a relationship is suggested between minister Gilmar Mendes and Daniel Vorcaro, founder of Banco Master
In the note in which he corrects what he had published, the Estadão states: “The report also records, in a way that was discovered to be mistaken, that ‘with the confirmation of the trip (by Gilmar Mendes), it is possible to state that 4 of the 10 ministers in office at the STF flew on planes linked to Vorcaro’. The report refers to trips on PrimeYou planes made by ministers Alexandre de Moraes and their family members (8 trips), Dias Toffoli (one trip) and Kassio Nunes Marques (one trip)”.
“Estadão” published at the bottom of page 4 of its printed edition, on April 18, 2026, a Saturday, the note above correcting a report in which it had suggested a relationship between Gilmar Mendes and Daniel Vorcaro, founder of Banco Master
FULL NOTE
Below is the full text of the newspaper note The State of S.Paulo released on April 18, 2026:
“A Estadão report aired on April 8 and published in the printed edition the following day had the following title: Gilmar Mendes traveled to Brasília on a plane belonging to Vorcaro’s company on his return from his brother’s inauguration in MT. The title does not reflect as it should the full content of the report. The presence of Gilmar Mendes on the flight, between Diamantino (GO) and Brasília (DF), was not due to the fact that the plane, at the time, belonged to a company, PrimeYou, in which banker Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Banco Master, liquidated by the Central Bank in November last year, had a stake.
“Gilmar traveled as a guest of Marcos Molina, president of the Board of Directors of MBRF. The company confirmed the trip and informed that Molina has a share in the aircraft operated by PrimeYou, but denied the executive’s personal or commercial relationship with Vorcaro. Minister Gilmar Mendes, contacted by the newspaper before the publication of the article, denied having knowledge of the aircraft’s relationship with the company of which Vorcaro was a partner, highlighting that he flew at the invitation of a friend of more than two decades.
“The report also records, in a way that was discovered to be mistaken, that, ‘with the confirmation of the trip (of Gilmar Mendes), it is possible to state that 4 of the 10 ministers in office at the STF flew on planes linked to Vorcaro’. The report refers to trips on PrimeYou planes made by ministers Alexandre de Moraes and their family members (eight trips), Dias Toffoli (one trip) and Kassio Nunes Marques (one trip). The connections between Moraes and Toffoli with Vorcaro are well known.
“On one of the trips, Moraes used the PrimeYou plane to meet Vorcaro in São Paulo. Toffoli had large investments from Vorcaro in his family’s resort, Tayayá. Kassio revealed that he flew on a PrimeYou plane rented by Master’s lawyer. There is no similar link between Gilmar Mendes and Vorcaro’s planes that could justify the title of the report.”
