Brazil police arrest businessman in bank scandal rattling elite

Buildings on Faria Lima Avenue in the financial district of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, Sept. 1, 2022.

Brazilian police on Wednesday arrested a businessman at the heart of a major bank scandal that has rattled the highest echelons of power in Latin America’s largest economy.

Daniel Vorcaro, 42, was the major shareholder in the small private Master Bank which collapsed late last year, sparking a major fraud investigation that has raised questions about connections between financiers, top judges and politicians.

He was arrested at his home in Sao Paulo on orders of the Supreme Court, a source close to the case told AFP.

Federal police said in a statement they had carried out 15 raids on Wednesday as part of their investigation.

The scandal erupted in November when Master Bank was found to be insolvent and liquidated, leaving more than $7 billion in debt due to some 800,000 investors -- who were paid out by a deposit guarantee fund.

Vorcaro was first arrested while attempting to leave Brazil aboard a private jet as police probed financial fraud linked to the collapse. He was released on bail.

The investigation has included examination of connections with politicians and judges, dominating newspaper headlines as Brazil gears up for elections in October.

In a statement given to police last year, Vorcaro said he had “friends in all branches of government.”

In the arrest order issued late Tuesday, Supreme Court justice Andre Medonca described a criminal organization involved in financial fraud, corruption of central bank officials and money laundering.

It also cited intimidation and illegal surveillance of journalists, former officials, and authorities.

The document references WhatsApp messages in which Vorcaro orders someone to plan a physical attack on a critical journalist by staging a mock robbery.

The Supreme Court also ordered the freezing of assets worth up to US$4 billion, in addition to previous seizures of hundreds of millions of dollars in assets.

Mendonca took over the case in February, replacing Jose Dias Toffoli who had come under fire for his handling of the case as links emerged between him and Vorcaro’s associates.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who acknowledged meeting with the banker in 2024, has pledged that the investigation would be pursued “to its fullest extent.”