The Banco Master investigation is turning into a race for plea bargains, with suspects trying to speak before others do and before the Federal Police decides it already knows enough. That race may help prosecutors. It may also expose, once again, Brazil’s familiar problem: major corruption cases can generate spectacular revelations and still end with thin institutional consequences.
Paulo Henrique Costa, the former president of Banco de Brasília (BRB), has signaled through his lawyers that he may seek a plea bargain. BRB is a public bank controlled by the government of Brazil’s Federal District. Costa was arrested in the Federal Police’s Operation Compliance Zero and is suspected of bypassing governance rules and allowing transactions with Banco Master involving assets allegedly lacking proper backing.
The Race to Speak
According to G1, at least four people investigated in the Master case have considered cooperating: Banco Master owner Daniel Vorcaro, his brother-in-law Fabiano Zettel, Reag founder João Carlos Mansur and Costa. Investigators reportedly intend to reward only information that goes beyond what police already found, especially if it identifies the role of public officials.
Metrópoles reported that Vorcaro is further along than Costa. He has signed a confidentiality term with the Federal Police and the Prosecutor General’s Office and has been preparing material with his legal team. Zettel’s possible deal, according to the outlet, would work as a complement to Vorcaro’s account by corroborating claims with additional evidence.
Costa, meanwhile, has asked Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) to transfer him from the Papuda prison complex in Brasília to a place where he can hold confidential conversations with lawyers. His defense says any cooperation would depend on voluntariness, technical analysis of the usefulness of evidence and a clear decision about risks and terms.
What Investigators Allege
The investigation centers on Banco Master’s relationship with BRB. BRB’s board approved the purchase of 58% of Master’s total capital, but Brazil’s Central Bank later vetoed the deal. Police are also investigating whether Master sold BRB bad or unsupported credit portfolios.
Metrópoles reported that documents point to six properties valued at R$146.5 million (roughly USD 27 million at recent rates) that investigators suspect were part of bribes for Costa. The Federal Police says the broader case involves alleged corruption, money laundering, financial crimes and criminal organization.
A separate Metrópoles report said Costa had asked BRB’s then-legal director, Jacques Veloso, on September 29, 2025, to prepare legal strategies for a possible liquidation of Master. That was 50 days before the Central Bank ordered the bank’s extrajudicial liquidation. Veloso told the outlet the request led to technical meetings and later legal measures to protect BRB’s interests.
The Electoral Risk
Brazil has seen this movie before. Operation Car Wash, the sprawling anti-corruption probe that began in 2014, produced more than 110 plea agreements through 2021 and fines totaling about R$784 million (roughly USD 145 million at recent rates), according to Metrópoles. It also reshaped politics, elections and public trust.
The Master case is smaller, but the political danger is similar. If plea bargains produce documents, money trails and testable evidence, they can strengthen the investigation. If they produce only selective accusations, leaks and campaign ammunition, the case risks becoming another election-year spectacle: enough scandal to dominate the news cycle, not enough accountability to repair the institutions involved.
That is the central test. Brazil does not lack corruption scandals. It lacks consistent endings. For the Master case to matter beyond the next campaign, investigators and courts will need more than confessions. They will need corroborated evidence, clear charges, recoverable losses and consequences that survive the electoral calendar.
Fonts: https://www.metropoles.com/brasil/master-avanco-da-investigacao-acelera-corrida-por-delacoes-premiadas https://www.metropoles.com/colunas/grande-angular/ex-presidente-do-brb-pediu-estrategia-para-liquidacao-do-master-50-dias-antes-da-decisao-do-bc https://g1.globo.com/df/distrito-federal/noticia/2026/04/28/defesa-diz-que-ex-presidente-do-brb-pretende-fazer-delacao-premiada-e-pede-transferencia-da-papuda.ghtml https://g1.globo.com/politica/blog/valdo-cruz/post/2026/04/23/corrida-da-delacao-do-master-tera-beneficios-quem-falar-mais-do-que-a-pf-ja-sabe.ghtml
accessed on 28 April 2026