Justice Kassio Nunes Marques of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) is weighing whether to reverse his recusal and vote again on cases tied to the Banco Master investigation after the October general elections, according to Folha de S.Paulo. Marques also presides over the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), which runs the vote, and stepped aside on September 15, when the full bench began reviewing a report on messages between the banker under investigation Daniel Vorcaro and Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
According to sources heard by Folha, the recusal reflected concern about the electoral impact of the review, since Kassio heads electoral justice in the middle of the campaign. He has told people close to him that the decision applied to that specific moment, and that each new dispute will be weighed on its own. The news site Metrópoles reported a similar reading: his recusal in matters involving Moraes would not automatically extend to the request to investigate Justice André Mendonça, the rapporteur of the Master case, for suspected abuse of authority. Aides expect him to vote against opening an investigation, though the decision is not final.
How the standoff developed
The standoff stems from a federal investigation into Banco Master's purchases of precatórios, court-ordered public debts that trade at a discount because payment can take years. After federal police seized Vorcaro's phone, extracted messages showed his contacts with officials, including Moraes and family members. Petitions asking the court to investigate Moraes and Mendonça followed. On September 15, the bench debated an order to try the two requests together: the partial score stood at 4 to 3 against, and Justice Flávio Dino requested a review, suspending the analysis. The sitting set for Wednesday (23) was postponed by the court's president, Justice Edson Fachin.
Kassio and Justice Dias Toffoli did not take part in that vote. Toffoli declared himself biased after reports of business dealings with Vorcaro and stopped ruling on Master-related cases. Kassio said, when announcing his recusal, that ideally he would not join a ruling capable of affecting the course of the election. According to Folha, he argues in private that chairing the electoral court makes him the referee of the race, a more delicate position than his colleagues hold. His absence weakened Mendonça, who had counted on Kassio's votes in every case until then.
Why Kassio's name appears in the files
The justice's own name appears in the investigation files. Hours before the September 15 session, excerpts from Vorcaro's phone citing Kassio were leaked, including exchanges that mention payments to his son, lawyer Kevin Marques, Folha reported. News outlet g1 said investigators point to a group nicknamed "turma do KN" (KN's crowd), initials attributed to Nunes Marques, linked to appeals judge Newton Ramos and lawyer Camilla Ramos. In one June 2025 exchange, she celebrated with Vorcaro a win for sugar mills at the court's second chamber, by 3 to 2, praising "an excellent vote by Min Nunes Marques". In a statement, the minister said he "never authorized anyone to speak on his behalf". The references remain under investigation, and none of the people cited has been convicted.
Kassio and Mendonça also share duties at the electoral court: both sit, with Justice Estela Aranha, on the TSE committee that handles electoral advertising cases, according to Folha. For now, the rulings on the requests against Moraes and Mendonça remain suspended by Dino's review request, and Wednesday's session was pulled from the agenda by Fachin. If Kassio keeps his current view, his return to the bench in the Master cases should come only after the October vote.