By Ricardo Brito and Lisandra Paraguassu
BRASILIA, April 9 (Reuters) – A Brazilian banker arrested last month on fraud allegations had paid millions to powerful figures across the political spectrum, tax records reviewed by Reuters show, during a period when his bank was seeking to avoid liquidation.
The payments add to the chances that a scandal around failed lender Banco Master could have an impact on general elections in October, when Brazilians choose a new president, governors and lawmakers.
At the center of the fallout is Daniel Vorcaro, head of Banco Master who had overseen a rapid expansion that surprised some analysts. His alleged influence over senior central bankers is now the subject of a criminal investigation.
In tax documents subpoenaed by a congressional inquiry and reviewed by Reuters, Banco Master reported making hefty payments to former President Michel Temer, a former senior adviser to ex-President Jair Bolsonaro and a former finance minister who introduced Vorcaro to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The documents also confirmed press reports that the bank had paid a law firm run by the wife of Brazil’s highest-profile Supreme Court justice, Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the case that sent Bolsonaro to prison for a failed coup plot.
Asked about the matter, the recipients all said the payments were made legally for services they delivered. Reuters could not independently verify their accounts and there is no evidence the payments were linked to regulatory decisions.
The payments identified by Reuters were made in 2025, after Brazil’s central bank had flagged mismanagement at the bank, which was liquidated in November.
As Vorcaro is now negotiating a possible plea deal with federal police, according to two sources close to the investigation, the sprawling web of payments add to concerns of graver revelations in the coming months.
Leonardo Barreto, an analyst at consultancy Think Policy, said that the scandal has cut across party lines in Brasilia, which may “dilute this sense of blame.”
Still, he added, the impact may be worse for incumbents like Lula because “voters do not make this distinction and are guided by the overall environment.”
REPUTATIONS ON THE LINE
The documents show the law office of Viviane Barci de Moraes, the wife of Justice Alexandre de Moraes, received 40 million reais ($7.9 million) from Banco Master in 2025.
The firm said in a statement that the information was “illegally leaked” and the values reported in the leaked documents were wrong, without offering further details.
On Wednesday, when details of the tax documents began appearing in the press, Lula suggested in an interview that he was concerned about damage to Moraes’ reputation.
Lula said he told Moraes he had built a “historic legacy in this country,” but added advice: “Do not allow the Vorcaro case to throw away your legacy.”
Lula was not accused of wrongdoing in the records.
Lula’s former Finance Minister Guido Mantega also appeared in the records, with his consulting firm taking in 8 million reais from the bank.
Mantega, who arranged for Vorcaro to meet Lula last year, said in a statement that “when I signed the consulting agreement, there was no indication of irregularities.”
Temer, the former president who broke with Lula’s party, confirmed that his law firm earned 7.5 million reais for legal mediation services provided to Banco Master. Temer stressed that these engagements occurred after he left office in 2018.
Fabio Wajngarten, Bolsonaro’s former head of communications, received 3.8 million reais from Banco Master in 2025. Wajngarten stated he worked on Vorcaro’s legal defense team under a contract with confidentiality clauses.
($1 = 5.0690 reais)
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Writing by Manuela Andreoni; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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