Brazil’s Supreme Court Lifts Secrecy on Master Bank Fraud Probe

Supreme Court Justice André Mendonça granted a request from Chief Justice Edson Fachin to remove the secrecy surrounding the Banco Master investigation, a case that has implicated sitting members of Brazil’s highest court. Photo: EFE.

September 11, 2026 Hour: 10:30 pm

The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil has lifted this Friday the confidentiality of investigations into the Master Bank fraud case, the largest banking fraud in the country’s history.

The decision, made by Judge André Mendonça, comes in response to a request from Supreme Federal Court ‘s President, Edson Fachin. The move aims to allow all members of the Supreme Court to access the case files before an extraordinary session scheduled for next Tuesday, September 15.

The measure provides for keeping in reserve only those ongoing proceedings, such as searches or arrest warrants, whose effectiveness depends strictly on the factor of surprise.

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The extraordinary session will evaluate the validity of a Federal Police report, commissioned by Mendonça, which identified conversations between Judge Alexandre de Moraes and the imprisoned banker Daniel Vorcaro, owner of the defunct Master Bank. Vorcaro is detained for a tax fraud of billions of dollars. According to messages found on Vorcaro’s phone, the banker sought information and assistance from the judge to delay police operations against him.

Text reads: “The President of the Supreme Court, Fachin, gave a 24-hour deadline for the court judge André Mendonça to remove the confidentiality of all documents on the case of fraud and corruption of the Master Bank. The request was made by the Attorney General of the Republic. Mendonça last night released some of the documents about the investigations and was accused of making a selective disclosure by his colleague Alexandre de Moraes, who appears in the focus of the investigations. Mendonça is in charge of the investigations linking the far-right senator and presidential candidate, Flavio Bolsonaro, with the former president of the Master Bank.”

Internal Court Crisis

Judge De Moraes requested an investigation into Mendonça for abuse of power, citing a police report with no supposed probative value. This has sparked an unprecedented internal crisis within the Court, which has previously faced threats of closure from former President Jair Bolsonaro and his ex-minister Augusto Heleno.

During the upcoming meeting, the Ministers will decide whether to open a formal investigation against De Moraes. The lifting of the secrecy also confirmed that the Federal Police and the Prosecutor’s Office are investigating Senator Flávio Bolsonaro for corruption, money laundering, and currency evasion.