STF Minister Dias Toffoli denied the Attorney General's Office request to suspend an acareação involving suspects in the Banco Master irregularities case, scheduled for December 30. The hearing will confront Daniel Vorcaro, the bank's owner, Paulo Henrique Costa, former BRB president, and Ailton de Aquino, Central Bank's Fiscalization Director. Lawyers describe the measure as inopportune, as individual depositions have not yet been taken.
The Supreme Federal Court (STF) is at the heart of controversies with Minister Dias Toffoli's decision to hold an acareação in the inquiry into Banco Master frauds, despite objections from the Attorney General's Office (PGR). The hearing, scheduled for December 30, 2025, during the judicial recess, will involve Daniel Vorcaro, the bank's owner, Paulo Henrique Costa, former Banco de Brasília (BRB) president, and Ailton de Aquino, Central Bank's (BC) Fiscalization Director, via videoconference.
Toffoli argues there are contradictions in the inquiry files, which probe the issuance of fake credits estimated at R$12 to 17 billion, used in the attempted sale of Master to BRB, denied by the BC. The focus will be clarifying when the BC learned of the suspicions, fiscalization measures in the banking titles market, and potential failures in that process. Internal BC reports and 38 alerts from banks about Master's aggressive operations, including high-risk CDB sales, will be confronted.
The PGR, through Attorney General Paulo Gonet, requested suspension, claiming the acareação is premature without individual depositions, per the Code of Criminal Procedure (CPP). Toffoli denied it, citing article 156 of the CPP for anticipatory evidence production. However, criminal lawyers like Marcelo Cavali, a doctor in criminal law, state: "The acareação at this moment is inopportune," as no declared divergences exist yet. Alberto Toron, FAAP professor, calls the measure "strange," noting the 2019 accusatory system limits judicial initiative.
Jaime Fusco from Almeida & Fusco office warns the order may undermine STF jurisprudence, consolidated in 2023 for a judge as a "guarantor spectator." No BC member is investigated, but the hearing could expose regulatory failures. The case gained momentum with Operation Compliance Zero, launched on November 18, 2025, when Vorcaro was arrested at Guarulhos Airport and later released with an ankle monitor. The inquiry, under seal, was transferred to the STF due to mention of a federal deputy.
The recess date choice, without apparent urgency, bolsters criticisms that the measure contradicts the anti-crime package. BC interlocutors indicate Aquino will make himself available, but the agency did not comment.
