Jaques Wagner says he will prove innocence, but avoids commenting on investigation

"The inquiry, the investigation, even serves to remove guilt. So, I am sure that I will prove my innocence", he declared, in an interview with Rádio Baiana FM.

According to the parliamentarian, his lawyer recommended that he not comment on the merits of the investigation, to preserve his right to defense. “On his advice, so I don’t leave here and get yelled at by my lawyer, he asks me not to talk,” he said.

Asked about the support of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), Wagner said that he has received support from the Chief Executive since the start of the operation. He also stated that he was calm regarding the investigations and cited an excerpt from the vote of the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) André Mendonça.

The senator also stated that he will remain focused on the electoral campaign while the case is investigated. "The Federal Police do their work, investigate, propose to the Public Ministry, the Public Ministry evaluates, then the magistrate will judge. I want to tell you that I am very calm", he declared.

The investigation

The Federal Police investigation report that supported Operation Compliance Zero against Jaques Wagner pointed out the existence of 74 connections between the senator and the former partner of Banco Master, Augusto Ferreira Lima, also the target of the investigations. According to documents made public by Minister André Mendonça, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Wagner and Lima spoke for five hours and 30 minutes in these calls.

The PF notes that the senator and the banker had a “clear preference” for telephone conversations, rather than messages, and that they even spoke several times in the same day. The dialogues cover the period from November 2023 to May 2025.

The court documents show that Mendonça authorized the PF to monitor the movements of Jaques Wagner's cell phone after suspected leaks. The minister mentioned that he received a request for a hearing in his office on the same day that the operation was filed.

The PF investigation investigates bribery payments from Banco Master to Jaques Wagner and points out that the purchase of a R$2.5 million apartment for the senator would have used the same scheme as the acquisition of properties with bribery resources for the former president of the Banco Regional de Brasília (BRB), Paulo Henrique Costa.

The PF also identified that the owner of the Master, Daniel Vorcaro, arranged a meeting with Wagner in the Senate, provided a plane “in a discreet hangar” for the senator and mentioned, in a dialogue, that the parliamentarian would be an intermediary to send a message to Lula.

Mendonça authorized the PF to monitor Jaques Wagner's phone on suspicion of an operation leak

André Mendonça authorized tracking of the senator's location and access to call records for ten days. The measure was taken after suspected leaks in the investigation into fraud at Banco Master