Federal Police request removal of Attorney General Paulo Gonet from Banco Master investigation
The ADPF demands that Paulo Gonet recuse himself from an investigation in which he is mentioned, linked to the scandal that shook Brazil's Supreme Federal Court.
Federal Police delegates request Gonet's removal from inquiry in which he is cited
Delegates of the Brazilian Federal Police requested on Saturday that Attorney General Paulo Gonet recuse himself from the investigation into a police report in which his name appears — a document at the centre of a scandal that has provoked a deep crisis in the Supreme Federal Court (STF), according to CNN Portugal.
The report in question was prepared by four delegates and three Federal Police agents, on the orders of STF judge André Mendonça, and contains 52 messages found on the mobile phone of Daniel Vorcaro, former owner of the now-defunct Banco Master, detained as part of an investigation into million-dollar fraud in the financial system. Gonet's name appears in the same document.
Gonet opens internal proceedings against investigators
After learning of the report's contents, the Attorney General opened a proceeding to determine whether there was an "order or external interference" in its preparation and whether any such intervention affected the document's content.
The National Association of Federal Police Delegates (ADPF), which represents more than 2,300 delegates, rejected the measure and stated in a statement that the officials involved merely complied with a judicial order, with no room to question the instructions received.
According to the ADPF, if the Attorney General's Office considers the decision ordering the report's preparation to be irregular, it should contest it before the STF — not via a proceeding against the investigators who executed that order. The association further stressed that external oversight of police activities does not grant the Public Ministry disciplinary power over delegates and agents, nor does it constitute a mechanism to review judicial decisions.
The entity also requested that all facts revealed by the operation relating to Banco Master be investigated "in their entirety, without selectivity regarding the authorities involved", and requested the dismissal of the proceeding opened by Gonet.
Crisis at the STF with accusations between judges
The disclosure of messages from Vorcaro's mobile phone triggered a crisis at the STF marked by mutual accusations among judges of the same court. The most acute point occurred on Tuesday, when judge Mendonça lifted the confidentiality of the police's preliminary investigations and asked the STF president, Luiz Edson Fachin, to have the case analysed in plenary.
Messages attributed to Vorcaro include alleged communications with judge Alexandre de Moraes — who conducted the trial that resulted in the imprisonment of former president Jair Bolsonaro on charges of attempting a coup d'état — as well as references to million-dollar dealings, meetings and offers of luxury experiences to the judge and his family.
The scandal, which has been unfolding since 2025, also involved the Federal Police director, Andrei Rodrigues. Gonet requested the annulment of the proceeding after police found messages between Vorcaro and a lawyer who allegedly served as an intermediary between the Attorney General and the banker.
Moraes requests investigation into Mendonça
Under strong pressure to resign, Moraes retaliated and requested that Mendonça be investigated for "strong evidence" of abuse of authority and crime of responsibility, among other accusations, relying on a document from the Federal Police intelligence services which, according to critics, has no "probative value".
The STF president, Fachin, made two decisions on Friday: he opened a separate proceeding to investigate "alleged irregularities in the Federal Police investigations" and granted five business days to those involved to present explanations.
Source: CNN Portugal