It reads like a TV script, but it is a police file. Messages seized by Brazil's Federal Police in the investigations surrounding Banco Master show a close relationship between Frederic Kachar, then the executive in charge of newspapers and magazines at Grupo Globo, the country's largest media group, and Daniel Vorcaro, the bank's owner. The dialogues first surfaced on Wednesday (14) on the entertainment news portal TV Pop and were detailed on Thursday (15) by the Outro Canal column in Folha de S.Paulo, with excerpts also reproduced by outlets such as TVT News and Brasil 247.
The most sensitive stretch involves Malu Gaspar, a columnist at O Globo. In April 2025, Vorcaro forwarded Kachar one of her stories about lawsuits against Master managers and complained: "This is too much, Fred, come on". In the same message, he said the editorial line "really diminishes Globo's journalism".
Kachar replied that he had been trying to reach the journalist and defended her style: "I understand you, but it is a subjective matter. That is her style with everyone, not just you". Still, he called her approach "tiresome and unnecessary" and promised: "I will talk to her". In another message, he stressed the columnist's independence: "Malu is free".
Vorcaro kept complaining. "We feel powerless with this rain of attacks", he wrote, suggesting the criticism was good for traffic: "I understand that attacking generates more clicks, but you could alternate". He also protested being portrayed "as if I were a member of the PCC or some criminal organization", a reference to Brazil's largest prison gang.
"No phones" party and remarks about actresses
The messages show the closeness went beyond news coverage. In May 2024, Vorcaro said he would skip an event held by Forbes magazine and invited Kachar to a private party, described as a setting "with no phones" and "no risk". The executive was treated as a "guest of honor", attended, and thanked him the next day in a casual tone: "Did anyone get the license plate of the truck that ran me over? Thanks for the invite yesterday".
The reproduced excerpts also include remarks about actresses such as Deborah Secco, some of a sexual nature according to Brasil 247, and references to women identified as Sabrina and Monique, per the material published by TVT News.
For the record: nothing in the published dialogues shows that Kachar ordered changes to the stories or interfered with coverage. Even so, the cost was high. Grupo Globo fired the executive on Thursday, after 29 years at the company, according to Mônica Bergamo's column in Folha. Vorcaro, meanwhile, is a target of Federal Police probes into fraud linked to Banco Master.
If you want to follow the story: Malu Gaspar's columns remain on O Globo's website, Outro Canal runs on Folha's portal, and the Master case delivers new chapters almost every week across Brazilian news sites.