By Indianara Goz
Two Federal Police (PF) investigators who led the probe into Banco Master were told on the night of Friday, Nov. 6, that they are leaving the agency's General Coordination for Combating Corruption, Financial Crimes and Money Laundering. The shake-up is drawing attention in Brasília less for the change itself than for what the investigators' reports said about Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Brazil's highest court.
More than 300 interactions at the center of the Banco Master case
The two investigators, Daniel Mostardeiro Cola and Wedson Cajé Lopes, wrote reports that identified more than 300 interactions between Daniel Vorcaro, founder of Banco Master, and Moraes. The material was sent to the STF on the orders of André Mendonça, then the case's rapporteur (the justice in charge of it).
The messages were compiled on a site called MasterWhats and contained requests for help from the businessman to the justice. In other words, what appears in the conversations is the request, not proof that anything was done. That point needs to be clear to readers.
Moraes denies favoring the bank
Moraes denied having acted to benefit the bank. He called the order to produce the report "illegal" and asked that Mendonça be investigated for abuse of power.
A second report has not reached the Supreme Court
There is a second report that could be even more explosive. Cola and Cajé were also preparing a document requested by STF president Edson Fachin. It was meant to identify justices mentioned in the evidence, especially in data from Vorcaro's cellphone, and to inform an assessment of a possible trial before the Court.
The PF was supposed to deliver the material in the first week of November. So far, however, it has not been sent to the STF presidency.
Exit comes amid leaks
The change comes just days after documents from the investigation were leaked. The dismissal orders have not yet been published in the Diário Oficial da União, Brazil's official gazette. The replacements will be chosen by the PF's director-general, Andrei Rodrigues.
Why it matters
The Federal Police is the agency that investigates federal crimes in Brazil, and the STF is the country's top court, which also oversees cases involving certain authorities. When the investigators in charge of a case that mentions a sitting justice are replaced, questions about the independence of the inquiry follow naturally, even though nothing in the source indicates wrongdoing by the justice.
What may come next
With the two investigators off the case, the open questions are who will follow up on the more than 300 interactions identified and whether the report requested by Fachin will actually reach the STF presidency. Until that happens, the case remains surrounded by doubts.
VDD Analysis
When the Federal Police replace those responsible for an investigation that cites a justice of the country's highest court, it is public trust in the transparency of institutions that suffers. No one is being convicted here: Moraes denies any favoritism, and that must be respected. But citizens have the right to know, without shielding, what the evidence actually shows. Independence for the PF and accountability for the Supreme Court are not flags of one side only; they are the foundation of a republic that works.
