BANCO MASTER
The sex-and-liquor subplot of Brazil's biggest banking fraud
Daniel Vorcaro allegedly used escorts to buy himself political influence. Photo: Rubens Cavallari/Folhapress
With Brazil’s headlines dominated by the Iran war’s effects on fuel prices (and their potential electoral consequences), new revelations in the Banco Master fraud saga have drawn less attention than expected.
Tax records shared with a congressional inquiry into organized crime show that Master, the failed bank whose collapse will cost taxpayers upwards of BRL 50 billion (USD 9.8 billion), spent lavishly on a roster of political figures that cut across party lines.
Vorcaro, Master's CEO, has been in Federal Police custody since last month, after investigators found that he was trying to tamper with witnesses. He is reportedly negotiating a plea deal. His lawyers declined to comment on the payment records.
👉 Why it matters. The record includes figures from Workers' Party-aligned governments, centrist powerbrokers, and people close to Jair Bolsonaro. Even the media ecosystem is involved: Grupo Massa, owned by the father of Paraná Governor Ratinho Júnior, declared massive payments from Master.
Yet the story that will generate the most heat and dominate WhatsApp groups does not concern consulting contracts, it concerns the partying.
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