Supreme Court crisis: international press highlights Banco Master scandal and Moraes
Revelations about messages from banker Daniel Vorcaro and links with minister Alexandre de Moraes have placed the Supreme Court under growing pressure. AP, RFI and Infobea cover the institutional crisis.
International press points to institutional crisis in Supreme Court
Gazetadopovo.com.br reports that international outlets have begun to frame the new revelations in the Banco Master case as a crisis that goes beyond minister Alexandre de Moraes and directly affects the Supreme Court (STF).
The reports centre on messages found on banker Daniel Vorcaro's mobile phone, the businessman's relations with members of the judiciary, and mounting pressure on the Court following the release of documents by order of minister André Mendonça.
Pressure in the United States
The Associated Press (AP) agency, in a report also published by the Washington Post, highlighted that Moraes has begun facing demands to leave the STF. Federal Police (PF) documents, made public by Mendonça, show that Vorcaro sought guidance from Moraes repeatedly. PF investigators believe that the banker acted, on different occasions, on the basis of guidance attributed to the minister.
The AP further underlined the institutional impact of the revelations: STF ministers met in Brasília less than 24 hours after the documents were released, but made no public comment on the case during the session. Demands that Moraes explain his relationship with Vorcaro — or step down — increased in the days that followed.
Portugal and Argentina on the same line
In Portugal, the magazine Sábado treated the messages revealed by the PF investigation as elements that shook the Supreme Court and began to influence the Brazilian electoral environment as well. The publication highlighted messages in which Vorcaro asks for help from Moraes before his arrest and cites figures such as the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, and the director-general of the PF, Andrei Rodrigues.
The Argentine portal Infobea focused coverage on the content of the messages and Vorcaro's attempt to prevent measures against Banco Master. The outlet noted that the banker contacted Moraes whilst attempting to avoid the bank's liquidation and contain the progress of investigations against him.
Among the excerpts cited by Infobea is a message sent hours before Vorcaro's arrest in November 2025, in which the banker asks whether it had been possible to "block" a measure against him. The portal also highlighted a contract worth R$ 131 million between Banco Master and the law firm of Viviane Barci de Moraes, the minister's wife, and reported PF information about metadata indicating that Moraes edited the document.
France speaks of internal dispute at the STF
In France, the broadcaster RFI framed the episode as an institutional crisis in the Supreme Court. The report indicated that the Banco Master scandal reached the country's highest court and that the new revelations gave the case greater dimensions by directly involving Moraes. RFI also drew attention to an internal conflict within the STF itself, noting that the case generated an institutional dispute among its members.
Source: RTP