The collapse of Bank Master, and the ensuing investigation into the private bank are slowly revealing a criminal organization hiding within Brazil’s financial sector. Here is how it has unfolded thus far.
Banking Beginnings
2018:
Daniel Vorcaro becomes the majority shareholder of the collapsing Bank Maximum (Banco Máxima). Along with Augusto Ferreira Lima, a new team of bankers revamps the private bank.
2021:
Bank Maximum changes its name to Bank Master.
2018-2020: Vorcaro claims that Bank Master’s revenue grew from around $35 million (R$180 million) in 2018 to nearly $200 million (R$1 billion) in 2020, with 30% returns.
Something’s Not Right Here
2025-03-28: Bank of Brasilia’s Board of Directors unanimously approves the acquisition of Bank Master.
2025-09-03: After five months analyzing records, Brazil’s Central Bank blocks the Bank of Brasília’s acquisition due to signs of fraud. Authorities launch an investigation.
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The Operation Unfolds
2025-11-18: Authorities arrest Daniel Vorcaro in São Paulo’s Guarulhos Airport. Brazil’s Central Bank closes down Bank Master.
2026-01-14: The government seizes over $1 billion (R$ 5.7 billion) worth of assets belonging to 38 suspects, including Vorcaro and members of his family.
2026-02-12: Justice of the Federal Supreme Court Dias Toffoli steps down from the case, after the police found references to Toffoli on Vorcaro’s phone.
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2026-03-04: Vorcaro and several other suspects are again arrested on suspicion they tried to interfere with the investigation after posting bail.
2026-04-16: Ex-President of Banco de Brasília (BRB) Paulo Henrique Bezerra Rodrigues Costa is arrested.
Politicians Come Into Play
2026-05-07: Senator Ciro Nogueira, who was chief of staff for ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, is charged for taking payments from Vorcaro’s cousin in exchange for favorable legislation.
2026-05-14: Daniel Vorcaro’s father, Henrique, is arrested for operating private militias at the alleged behest of his son.
2026-05-26: Rio de Janeiro’s ex-Governor Cláudio Castro and former leaders of RioPrevidência, Rio’s public pensions program, are arrested for using pension funds to make risky investments in Bank Master. Castro had resigned as governor two months earlier over a conviction in an unrelated case.
2026-06-18: Authorities execute warrants against the Lula government’s top leader in the Senate, Jaques Wagner, over suspicion he accepted bribes from Bank Master CEO Augusto Lima. Wagner resigned on June 24, 2026.
2026-08-21: Brazil’s Federal Police request a two-month extension for their investigations after finding evidence that more executives at the BRB may be involved.
2026-08-25: The Federal Police launch an investigation into alleged irregularities in a $230,000 (R$1.2 million) investment by the municipal pension fund of the state capital of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, in Bank Master.
*This is the third part of a three-part series detailing the massive Bank Master fraud case in Brazil. Read the first and second parts here and here.
Featured image: The office Bank Master operated out of in São Paulo, Brazil. (Credit: InSight Crime/Christopher Newton)
