Brazil: Jailed Banker Vorcaro Asks Top Court to Delay Police Interviews
Brazil · Banco Master
Key Facts
- The country — Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy, with about 210 million people, and its Supreme Federal Court hears cases that in most countries would never reach the top bench.
- The background — The central bank shut Banco Master in November 2025. The police chief then put the suspected fraud at R$12 billion (about US$2.35 billion). Daniel Vorcaro, the bank’s former owner, has been held since 4 March 2026.
- Why now — Federal Police set two interview sessions for 24 and 30 September 2026, in two separate lines of inquiry. His lawyers say they still lack full copies of the case files.
- What happened — On Monday 21 September 2026 Vorcaro’s lawyers asked Justice Edson Fachin, the court’s president, to postpone both sessions.
- What is asked — Full case files first: reports, evidence, other suspects’ statements and phone data. Then a minimum of ten working days to study them with Vorcaro. The request repeats one first filed on 14 September. The 24 September session covers suspected fraud between Banco Master and BRB. BRB, or Banco de Brasília, is a publicly controlled bank in the capital whose purchase of Master the central bank vetoed.
- What it means for you — Brazil’s biggest recent banking failure is still at the procedural stage, more than a year after the shutdown. Anyone judging Brazilian bank oversight should watch how long this takes.
- Still open — No ruling had been reported by Tuesday afternoon. The court remains split over which justice handles the Banco Master files, and Vorcaro’s lawyers say he has not been formally charged.
The former Banco Master owner is due before the Federal Police on 24 and 30 September. His defence says it has not seen the full files.
Lawyers for Daniel Vorcaro, the jailed former owner of Banco Master, want more time before he faces police questioning again. On Monday 21 September 2026 they asked Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court to postpone the Vorcaro testimony set for this week.
The petitions went to the court’s president, Justice Edson Fachin, and cover two Federal Police sessions on 24 and 30 September. The defence says it still lacks full copies of the case files.
No ruling on the request had been reported by Tuesday afternoon. Vorcaro has not been formally charged, according to a separate petition his lawyers filed last week.
What the lawyers are asking for
The first Vorcaro testimony session is set for Thursday 24 September 2026. It belongs to the inquiry into suspected fraud in dealings between Banco Master and BRB, according to Valor Econômico.
BRB, or Banco de Brasília, is a publicly controlled bank in the capital. It had tried to buy Master before the central bank vetoed the deal.
The petition repeats a request first filed on 14 September, saying the Federal Police have not supplied complete copies. They want reports, evidence, other suspects’ statements and phone data, CNN Brasil reported.
Once the files arrive, the defence says it needs a minimum period, “not less than 10 working days”, to analyse them. It also wants time to discuss the material with its client, “today in custody”, according to the petition quoted by O Globo.
The lawyers insist Vorcaro is not dodging the interview. He has “every interest in giving his testimony”, they wrote, in a line reported by CNN Brasil.
They cite Binding Precedent 14, a Supreme Court rule giving defence lawyers access to evidence already documented in an investigation. Without that access, they argue, the Vorcaro testimony would breach the defence’s prerogatives.
The petition also points to Luana de Andrade Ribeiro, a former risk and controls director at BRB who is under investigation. Her lawyers said on 18 September that she was surprised by specific forensic evidence during her own interview, the petition says.
The second session and the groups called A Turma
The second session, on Wednesday 30 September 2026, concerns a separate line of inquiry. It covers groups known as “A Turma” and “Os Meninos”, Portuguese for “The Crew” and “The Boys”.
Valor described them as groups that allegedly provided armed militia and hacking services for the former banker’s interests. Nobody has been convicted over those allegations.
CNN Brasil said this was the defence’s second request to delay a session. Vorcaro was already questioned once in the Master-BRB inquiry, in December 2025.
That interview was ordered by Justice Dias Toffoli, then in charge of the case. According to Valor, police had not yet analysed all the material seized from Vorcaro and others.
Why the request landed on the president’s desk
The Banco Master files are caught in a dispute inside the court itself. On Saturday 12 September, Fachin ordered the Master inquiries and a pension-fraud probe sent to the court presidency, Valor reported.
People close to Fachin told Valor that Justice André Mendonça remains the rapporteur, the justice in charge of the case. A full-court session on 15 September ended without settling who should handle the files.
That session was halted when Justice Flávio Dino asked for more time to study the case. Defence lawyers have since complained of a legal limbo, with no clear judge to rule on urgent requests.
The Federal Police have kept working meanwhile. Valor reported that they scheduled the Vorcaro testimony of 30 September despite that limbo.
Vorcaro’s lawyers also asked Fachin on 18 September to revoke his pre-trial detention. Valor reported on 22 September that Fachin had not yet ruled on that request.
The Banco Master case, explained
Brazil’s central bank placed Banco Master into extrajudicial liquidation on 18 November 2025. That is a forced wind-down applied when a bank is insolvent or has committed serious violations.
Master had attracted savers with deposit certificates paying well above market rates, backed by Brazil’s deposit guarantee fund. The fund covers up to R$250,000 (about US$49,000) per depositor at each institution.
The Federal Police investigation is called Operation Compliance Zero. Vorcaro was arrested at São Paulo’s Guarulhos airport in November 2025 and released by an appeals court later that month.
In November 2025, Federal Police chief Andrei Rodrigues told senators the suspected financial crime involved around R$12 billion (about US$2.35 billion). Conversions here use the central bank’s reference rate of 5.11 to the US dollar for 21 September 2026.
Vorcaro was arrested again on 4 March 2026 and is held at the Papuda prison complex in Brasília. His lawyers say the prosecutor general’s office had seen no imminent danger justifying it.
What happens next
Until a justice rules on the request, the police dates of 24 and 30 September stand. Fachin has not said when he will decide.
The broader dispute over who handles the Master files also awaits the full court. For now, the Vorcaro testimony depends on a court still arguing over its own role.
More: Brazil coverage, every day from The Rio Times.
Who is Daniel Vorcaro?
Daniel Vorcaro is the former owner of Banco Master, a Brazilian bank that the central bank placed into extrajudicial liquidation on 18 November 2025. He was arrested in November 2025, released, and arrested again on 4 March 2026. He is held in the Papuda prison complex in Brasília. His lawyers say he has not been formally charged.
What did his lawyers ask for on 21 September 2026?
They asked Supreme Federal Court president Edson Fachin to postpone Federal Police interviews set for 24 and 30 September 2026. They say the police have not handed over full copies of the case files. Once they get them, they want at least ten working days to study the material with their client.
Who will decide on the request?
That is itself disputed. On 12 September 2026, Fachin ordered the Banco Master files sent to the court presidency, while Justice André Mendonça formally remains the rapporteur. A full-court session on 15 September ended without settling who handles the files. Defence lawyers have complained that they do not know which justice should rule on urgent requests.
What is Banco Master accused of?
The Federal Police are investigating suspected fraud involving Banco Master, including its dealings with the publicly controlled Banco de Brasília. In November 2025 the Federal Police chief put the suspected financial crime at around R$12 billion (about US$2.35 billion). Several people are under investigation, and no court has ruled on the allegations.
Sources: Valor Econômico on the request, O Globo on the two petitions, CNN Brasil on the 30 September session, Record’s news portal on the petition’s arguments, Valor on the dispute over the case, Migalhas on the release request, Migalhas on the liquidation, B3 Bora Investir on Operation Compliance Zero
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