Banco Master Scandal Reaches Second Supreme Court Justice Moraes

(MENAFN- The Rio Times) Key Points

- Police found WhatsApp messages from Banco Master's Daniel Vorcaro to Justice Alexandre de Moraes sent the morning of his November 2025 arrest, asking if Moraes had managed to "block" something
- Moraes replied with three messages set to disappear after reading; he denies receiving the communications and calls the reporting a "lying fabrication"
- The revelation shifts scrutiny from Justice Toffoli, who left the case, squarely onto Moraes, whose family law firm held a R$129 million contract with Vorcaro's bank




The Banco Master scandal has found a new center of gravity at Brazil's Supreme Court. Federal Police forensic analysis of Daniel Vorcaro's seized iPhone has uncovered WhatsApp messages between the imprisoned banker and Justice Alexandre de Moraes sent on the morning of Vorcaro's first arrest in November 2025, according to reporting by journalist Malu Gaspar in O Globo. The content of the exchange raises questions about the nature of the relationship between one of Brazil's most powerful judges and the man now accused of orchestrating the country's largest financial fraud.

At 7:19 a.m. on November 17, 2025 - the day police would arrest him at Guarulhos airport as he tried to board a private jet to Dubai - Vorcaro wrote to Moraes: "I've been scrambling to try to save things. Any news? Were you able to get information or block?" Moraes responded quickly with three messages, but their content cannot be read. He used WhatsApp's single-view feature, which automatically deletes messages after the recipient opens them.
What Was Being Blocked?
The timing makes the exchange particularly sensitive. Police investigators established that Vorcaro already knew about the criminal inquiry into fraudulent credit portfolios sold to the state-owned Banco de Brasília, having obtained confidential information by illegally accessing Federal Police and prosecution databases. On the same day he messaged Moraes, his lawyers filed an emergency petition at the 10th Federal Court in Brasília at 3:47 p.m., attempting to block precautionary measures - eighteen minutes after Judge Ricardo Leite had already signed the arrest warrant under seal.



At 5:24 p.m., the bank announced its sale to the Fictor group for R$3 billion, with unnamed Arab investors involved. By 10 p.m., Vorcaro was in police custody. The Central Bank liquidated the Master the following day.
A Denial and a Pattern
Moraes has categorically denied the communications, calling the reporting "a lying fabrication intended to attack the Supreme Court." Vorcaro's defense declined to comment. Police also found an earlier exchange dated October 1, 2025, again with content either deleted or in single-view mode. Investigators identified phone calls between them as well.

Messages between Vorcaro and his then-girlfriend show the banker describing a personal meeting with Moraes in Campos do Jordão in April 2025. Other messages reference meetings with the speakers of both chambers of congress.
The R$129 Million Question
The WhatsApp revelation arrives on top of the already-disclosed R$129 million contract between Banco Master and the law firm run by Moraes's wife, Viviane Barci de Moraes, where two of the couple's children also work. The contract, found on Vorcaro's phone during the initial raid, provided for R$3.6 million in monthly payments for broad legal representation. Messages indicated the payments were treated as a top priority by the banker. Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet archived a request to investigate Moraes and his wife in December, citing insufficient evidence, a decision that drew criticism from congressional investigators.
From Toffoli to Moraes
The spotlight on Moraes follows Justice Dias Toffoli's departure from the Master case after revelations about his own family's financial ties to Vorcaro. With Justice André Mendonça now leading the investigation aggressively - including Vorcaro's second arrest on March 4 and R$22 billion in asset seizures - legal analysts argue the WhatsApp evidence makes a formal investigation of Moraes difficult to avoid. The messages do not constitute proof of a crime, but they establish a documented link between a Supreme Court justice and a fugitive suspect at the moment he was trying to evade arrest.

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