BC Director reports hostile environment to the PF and fear of leaks about Master’s liquidation

The Director of Supervision at the Central Bank, Ailton de Aquino, told the Federal Police that there was a hostile environment in the agency during the decision-making process on the future of Banco Master, with intense leaks of information. Therefore, he kept the decision to liquidate Daniel Vorcaro's financial institution secret in November last year.

Aquino told investigators that he hid the decision to liquidate the bank from Belline Santana, former head of Banking Supervision at the BC, and Paulo Sérgio Neves de Souza, former director of Supervision.

The two employees are being investigated for receiving payments from Vorcaro and have already stated, through their defenses, that they did not adopt measures to favor the former banker.

In the statement, published by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo and confirmed by the report, the director narrated what November 17th was like, the day before the announcement of the Master's dismissal from the National Financial System. According to the report, he and Gabriel Galípolo, president of the Central Bank, did not trust anyone at that time and had already made the decision to liquidate.

Aquino stated that Vorcaro had been asking for a meeting, but the idea was to receive him only on the 19th, Wednesday. However, he said, Santana and Paulo Sérgio acted as intermediaries and insisted very much that the former banker be received that Monday (17).

In a meeting held around 12:30 pm that day, via teleconference, Vorcaro presented to Aquino and the two civil servants the proposal to sell Master to Fictor for R$3 billion, together with Arab investors who were never revealed.

"That Vorcaro insisted on asking the deponent [Aquino] what his opinion was and what he thought of the proposal, as if he were seeking a favorable statement", says an excerpt from Ailton's statement.

The transaction, hours later, would be released to the press, but it did not materialize. Vorcaro was arrested that night, when he tried to board a jet at Guarulhos Airport. The PF suspects that the trip to the United Arab Emirates was just an escape attempt, which he denies.

In his statement, the BC director states that he remained neutral during the meeting and did not demonstrate commitment to the operation with Fictor, while Vorcaro demonstrated urgency and wanted to deliver the documentation, as he was going to travel. Ailton states that he had already made the decision to vote for the liquidation of Master.

That day, as revealed by Folha de S.Paulo, there was also a rush in an attempt to sell a R$60 million apartment in São Paulo, in a negotiation that also did not materialize.

When asked by investigators if he thought the former banker already knew about the settlement, he stated "expressly that he is conjecturing, being frivolous in doing so, but that the banker's behavior on that occasion generated that feeling, without there being any way to say this with certainty."

That day, Ailton says that Galípolo called a meeting with the BC board, and Master's liquidation was approved.

The decision to keep Master's liquidation secret internally was treated as atypical by the BC director. As he told the PF, under normal conditions in a bank liquidation process, the coordinator, head of division, deputy and head of department are informed in advance so that everyone can prepare. But, in the case of Banco Master, only it, the president of the BC, the attorney and the person responsible for executing the settlement in the respective department were informed.

The conduct of former BC managers has been analyzed by the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union) since March, in a PAD (Disciplinary Administrative Process) that could lead to the expulsion of the employees from the agency's staff, if they are found guilty. This process included an asset investigation between the two.

In parallel, an Administrative Sanctioning Process is being processed at the BC regarding the portfolios transferred to BRB. The Federal Police are investigating whether both were financially favored in exchange for information and assistance to the Master's interests within the BC.

Paulo Sérgio served as director of Supervision at the BC between 2017 and 2023. Months later, he assumed the position of deputy head of the Department of Banking Supervision, led by Belline from 2019 to 2026.

Career employees of the institution, with almost three decades at the company, they had the trust of their colleagues. As Folha de S.Paulo showed, the evidence of the duo's involvement in the Master case generated an atmosphere of dejection and perplexity among employees.

According to investigations, BC employees are suspected of having acted as informal consultants for Vorcaro in exchange for undue advantages. The evolution of the former managers' assets was the trigger for the opening of an internal investigation at BC.

The property investigation concluded that Paulo Sérgio simulated the sale of a farm in Minas Gerais to a company controlled by Fabiano Zettel, Vorcaro's brother-in-law, to hide the receipt of bribes. His defense claims that the sale of the property was effective and was not intended to mask any undue advantage.

Another conclusion of the BC investigation was that Belline simulated two contracts, totaling R$4 million, with a lawyer linked to Master to hide bribes received. According to his defense, the server did not adopt measures that favored the conglomerate.

The Central Bank decreed the liquidation of Master in November last year. Today, the assets are under the control of the liquidator appointed by the authority. The costs of the bank's failure exceed R$57 billion to date.

Young companies, created after 2021, received R$870 million from the Master

A survey with data sent to the Organized Crime CPI shows that 35 of the 117 companies that received at least R$5 million from Banco Master were opened as of 2021. Together, they received around R$870 million between 2022 and 2025