Federal Police identify R$ 17 billion fraud between Banco Master and BRB using forged documents
The Federal Police concluded that fictitious operations between Banco Master and BRB totalled R$ 17 billion, structured using forged documents and a shell company. Daniel Vorcaro and Paulo Henrique Costa are in custody.
Federal Police conclude fraudulent scheme between Master and BRB reached R$ 17 billion
The Federal Police concluded that fictitious operations carried out between Banco Master and Banco de Brasília (BRB) totalled approximately R$ 17 billion, structured through "mass production of forged documents, manipulation of internal data and use of a shell company", according to infomoney.com.br. Banker Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Master, and former BRB president Paulo Henrique Bezerra Rodrigues Costa are in custody.
The conclusion appears in a report from the organisation made public after minister André Mendonça, the case's rapporteur at the Supreme Court (STF), lifted the confidentiality of the investigation. When contacted, Vorcaro's defence made no comment. Costa's lawyers had not been contacted by Saturday evening.
Explicit corruption and incompatible transfers
Specifically regarding BRB, the Federal Police pointed to "explicit corruption practices" by the institution's former president. The total transfers from the District Federal's state bank for operations incompatible with its financial health was calculated at R$ 20 billion.
Master sold fictitious credit portfolios to BRB. In 2025, BRB attempted to acquire Master, but the negotiation was rejected by the Central Bank and Vorcaro's bank was liquidated. BRB inherited a multi-billion-pound loss that has not yet been fully calculated or covered.
Shell company and fabricated credits
According to the investigation, Banco Master began facing more serious liquidity difficulties from 2024 onwards and, to obtain resources quickly, began selling credit portfolios to BRB. To operationalise the fraud, Tirreno was set up, a company suspected of having been created as a vehicle for issuing and circulating assets. Tirreno forwarded credits to Master, which sold them to BRB.
The objective was to provide backing to transactions already carried out between the two institutions, since Master did not have the history or operational capacity to reach the multi-billion volumes of assigned credit operations.
Approval of purchases was carried out by BRB's board of directors with "procedures frequently accelerated", contradicting legal opinions that required consultation with the board of administration. "Despite technical and legal alerts, absence of financial backing and audit impediments, BRB persisted in acquisitions, suppressing governance controls and relaxing prudential limits, with the objective of favouring Banco Master", say the investigators.
Bribery of R$ 146.5 million in high-standard properties
The Federal Police identified that, in return, Vorcaro paid bribes totalling R$ 146.5 million to Paulo Henrique Costa, operationalised through the acquisition of at least six high-standard properties in São Paulo and Brasília. This information led minister Mendonça, in April, to order the arrest of BRB's former president during the fourth phase of Operation Compliance Zero.
The investigators also identified that Vorcaro maintained a WhatsApp group with his lawyers to forward documents relating to Master and BRB. The group was called "Daniel e os leões".
Scripts and CPFs extracted from old databases
Among the frauds discovered, Banco Master's technology team used scripts and codes to generate Banking Credit Notes (CCBs) in batches from CPFs extracted from old databases, such as that of the CredCesta programme — a payroll credit card created in Bahia that ended up at Banco Master.
The scheme also included the fabrication of clauses simulating that customers had authorised Master or Tirreno to sign loans in their names, without the account holders ever having granted any power of attorney. A total of 2,700 powers of attorney were created automatically, from which probably 1,785 were sent to BRB relating to credits supposedly originated by Tirreno.
The information comes from the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, as reproduced by infomoney.com.br.
Source: Google News BR — São Paulo