Brazil’s Federal Police are examining messages that allegedly show Marcelo Maia Souza Marques, the brother of Bahia’s attorney general, discussing payments with Daniel Vorcaro, the founder of Banco Master, according to reports by Metrópoles, Poder360 and Revista Oeste.
Marcelo is the brother of Pedro Maia Souza Marques, the attorney general of Justice in Bahia, the state-level head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The reports do not say Pedro Maia Souza Marques took part in the exchanges or accuse him of wrongdoing.
The messages, reportedly obtained from Vorcaro’s phone, refer to payments to Mídias Promotora, a company investigators say was used to give a legal appearance to transfers connected to the Rioprevidência case. Rioprevidência is the pension fund for public servants in Rio de Janeiro state.
According to Metrópoles, Marcelo appeared in Vorcaro’s contacts as “Marcelo Terra Firme,” a reference to a company linked to Augusto Lima, a former Banco Master partner. Federal Police investigators say Lima is directly connected to Rioprevidência investments in the bank’s financial instruments.
In one May 2024 exchange quoted by the outlets, Vorcaro asked: “Tudo bem? Mídias Promotora, 8 pau?” Marcelo replied that he had spoken that morning with a person identified as Félix, who had “validated” the payment on Friday and asked for it to be paid that day. Poder360 described the reference as a payment of R$8,000. Metrópoles and Revista Oeste reproduced the message but did not independently clarify the value in the quoted text.
Federal Police investigators allege that Mídias Promotora was registered in the name of a front man but controlled by Ricardo Siqueira Rodrigues, described by the reports as a Banco Master lobbyist in Rio de Janeiro. Metrópoles and Revista Oeste reported, citing Federal Revenue Service data obtained by the column, that the company received R$126.6 million from Banco Master between 2023 and 2025.
Investigators say the company was used to channel Banco Master payments with an appearance of legality to people involved in the alleged scheme. Metrópoles reported that the exchange of messages indicates Marcelo Maia Souza Marques took part in the operation to send the money.
The reports also connect Marcelo to Credcesta, a payroll-loan card business that originated after the privatization of Ebal, a Bahia state company that controlled the Cesta do Povo retail network. According to Metrópoles and Revista Oeste, Marcelo registered the domains Credicesta.com.br and Credcesta.com.br, and also registered the Credcesta site in Banco Máxima’s name on July 12, 2018. Banco Máxima later became Banco Master.
Metrópoles reported that Marcelo is a partner in AMF Consultoria e Assessoria Ltda. with André Kruschewsky, a former Banco Master director and cousin of Eugênio Kruschewsky, a former Bahia attorney general.
Metrópoles said Marcelo Maia Souza Marques, the Bahia Public Prosecutor’s Office and Pedro Maia Souza Marques did not respond to requests for comment. Poder360 said it contacted the Bahia Public Prosecutor’s Office by email and attempted to reach Marcelo, but did not find a valid phone number or email address. Both outlets said space remains open for comment.
Sources: Metrópoles, Poder360 and Revista Oeste.