The senator and pre-candidate for the Presidency (-RJ) stated this Thursday (7) that the information about the operation of which, senator (PI), is serious and said he expected a “wide investigation” of the case.
In a statement, Flávio did not directly mention Ciro, but said he was following the news published in the press carefully. According to the PF, the owner of , , paid R$500,000 per month to the president of , who was minister of the Civil House in the government (PL).
The pre-candidate also said he trusted the report of the minister of the (Supreme Federal Court), appointed by Bolsonaro to the court, in the Master case and declared that he expected “a broad investigation”.
“We understand that facts of this nature must be investigated rigorously and transparently by the competent authorities, always respecting due legal process,” he wrote.
Later, on Thursday night, Flávio released a video in which he once again praised Mendonça and defended the opening of the Master CPI, whose installation was blocked by the president of Congress, Davi Alcolumbre (Uniao Brasil-AP), in agreement with the opposition. In the play, the senator seeks to associate the Master case with Lula’s allies.
“Brazil deserves to know the whole truth. How the bank grew, who was behind it and what Master’s connections are with the top national leadership of the PT and Bahia. We cannot let them push this matter under the carpet. Master’s CPI now”, stated Flávio.
This is a reaction to the left’s strategy. How to Sheetmembers of the president’s government (PT) will try to associate Flávio, the PT’s main opponent in this year’s election, with the Banco Master scandal after the operation targeting Ciro — close to the Bolsonaro clan.
The expectation of Lula’s allies is that, at least for now, the president will not make strong statements about the operation spontaneously. The task of eroding Bolsonarism based on the accusations against Ciro would fall to ministers, congressmen and other political allies.
Ciro is president of the PP, one of the main parties in the center and which today forms a federation with União Brasil. Since joining Planalto, Flávio has been trying to garner public support for the group, which also has acronyms such as Republicans, to face Lula’s re-election attempt.
Em in December, Flávio said that Ciro had “all the credentials” to be vice-president on a Bolsonaro ticket for the Presidency and cited the fact that the senator is from the Northeast, president of a “strong party” and loyal to Jair Bolsonaro.
“I hear that Ciro Nogueira has publicly expressed this desire. But this is a decision that is taken much further down the line, it depends on the party composition, the profile. Without a doubt it is the name that is put forward today”, he said, at the time.
WHAT THE FEDERAL POLICE SAY
Among the PF’s main suspicions are that Ciro Nogueira received amounts passed on by Felipe Vorcaro, cousin of the Master’s owner.
Felipe would have made a partner “linked to the monthly payments in favor of the senator, initially corresponding to the amount of R$300 thousand, with indications that they would have been subsequently increased to the amount of R$500 thousand”. Vorcaro’s cousin was temporarily arrested.
Ciro Nogueira’s lawyer, Antônio Carlos de Almeida Castro, known as Kakay, said in a statement that the defense “repudiates any conclusion of illegality about his conduct, especially in his parliamentary performance.”
He says that the senator is committed to contributing to Justice “in order to clarify that he had no participation in illicit activities and in the facts investigated, making himself available for clarifications.”
The report did not locate Felipe Vorcaro’s defense.
According to Mendonça’s decision, the PF’s suspicions against Ciro involve, for example, the presentation of an amendment that would expand the coverage of the FGC (Credit Guarantee Fund) from R$250,000 to R$1 million per depositor.
This proposal was called the “Master amendment” in the market at the time. The intention was to provide a way out for the bank’s owner, who at that point was no longer able to sustain the financial architecture he had set up, identified in the investigations as fraudulent.
The PF also states that, in 2023, Vorcaro ordered the removal of envelopes from the senator’s residence that contained drafts of bills of particular interest, which were later taken to an office indicated by the banker.
They were then processed by people linked to Vorcaro and returned to a parliamentary server by a Vorcaro employee.
Suspicions related to Vorcaro’s relationship with Ciro also involve the payment of personal expenses. Investigators point out that the senator had a “high standard property” at his disposal, in addition to paying for accommodation, jets for international travel, restaurants and other personal expenses.
