Messages extracted by Brazil’s Federal Police from the phone of Daniel Vorcaro, the former owner of Banco Master, appear to show that he maintained contact with Alexandre de Moraes, a justice of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF). The messages became public on September 1, according to single-source reporting by Folha de S.Paulo.
The material does not establish whether Moraes replied. But Justice André Mendonça, who requested a position from the Office of the Prosecutor General (PGR), said the exchanges indicate that Vorcaro knew about his impending arrest before the decision was made public and sought intervention with public officials involved in his cases.
What the Messages Show
Vorcaro was arrested on November 17, 2025, amid investigations into alleged fraud involving Banco Master. According to the Federal Police, he contacted Moraes while trying to preserve the bank and follow the investigations.
Two days before his arrest, Vorcaro asked an interlocutor identified as Moraes: “Do you think I already have to be out on Monday?” On the day before the arrest, he asked whether there was “any chance of that happening tomorrow morning.” The documents do not clarify the identity of the interlocutor independently of the surrounding context.
Other messages mention Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet. In March 2025, while seeking to sell part of Banco Master to BRB, the state-owned Bank of Brasília, Vorcaro wrote to a former Central Bank official: “I’m with Moraes here. Haha. Should [he] call Paulo to put pressure on him?” The transaction was under scrutiny by federal prosecutors led by Gonet.
Possible Investigations
The PGR normally requests investigations and files charges against STF justices and other officials with special jurisdiction. Those cases are generally tried by the Supreme Court itself.
The situation is unusual because the messages also refer to Gonet, who is responsible for representing the federal prosecution service. Gonet has asked for the Federal Police report to be annulled, arguing that Mendonça exceeded his authority by ordering a pretrial investigation without a request from prosecutors or an independent initiative by police.
“A judge cannot accuse, and even less can a judge conduct pretrial investigations,” Gonet said, according to Folha.
Mendonça wants the matter discussed by the full 11-member Supreme Court. The date will be set by Chief Justice Edson Fachin. Unlike criminal cases involving most defendants with special jurisdiction, proceedings involving Supreme Court justices remain with the court’s full bench rather than one of its two five-member panels.
Impeachment Pressure
Brazil’s Senate has constitutional authority to conduct impeachment trials involving alleged crimes of responsibility by Supreme Court justices. The process is political rather than a conventional criminal proceeding.
Supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro in Congress, including presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, have renewed calls for Moraes’s impeachment. Senate President Davi Alcolumbre said there are 109 impeachment requests against Supreme Court justices and that he does not consider the number normal, but he did not announce a position on the latest disclosures.
Fachin said the court would take the “appropriate and necessary” measures. He added that the authority of a justice’s office brings duties, limits and responsibilities under Brazil’s Constitution and laws. He did not name Moraes or Mendonça.