Justice André Mendonça of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) said on Wednesday (2) that he met banker Daniel Vorcaro, the former owner of Banco Master, only once, in March 2025. According to his office, the subject was a case known as STP 976, a dispute over precatórios, the court-ordered debt payments that Brazil's federal, state and city governments must make once a ruling becomes final.
The statement came hours after the news site ICL Notícias published messages in which lawyer Ciro Rocha Soares, an ally of Vorcaro, discussed a meeting with the justice. The exchanges were taken from the banker's phone, seized by the Federal Police in Operation Compliance Zero. Master bought large slices of precatório credits that investigators suspect were issued before the underlying lawsuits had ended, while the federal government could still appeal the amounts.
The justice's account
"Justice André Mendonça clarifies that he received businessman Daniel Vorcaro only once, in March 2025, at the businessman's own initiative, and that he limited himself to listening to him. In the same month, he also received the businessman's lawyer, and still keeps in his office records the written memoranda handed over at the meeting." (translation from Portuguese)
According to the note, the STP 976 case was, on the exact date of the meeting, under review at the request of another justice, meaning it was paused. The meeting took place before Mendonça became the justice in charge of the Master case at the court, in February 2026. The note adds that the businessman sought similar contact with other members of the tribunal and that Mendonça's rulings went against the position defended by Vorcaro.
Messages and next steps
According to CartaCapital, which based its reporting on material from journalist Paulo Motoryn's newsletter Noites Húngaras, the lawyer wrote to Vorcaro on February 7, 2025: "I'm with André M." The next day, he sent a photo beside the justice and an audio message: "I just took André to Vasco to have a suit made." On February 16, he wrote: "Opa, Dani!!! I really need to talk to you. A.M. wants to receive you. And I need to schedule it as soon as possible." Vorcaro replied: "Book Wednesday." The meeting took place on March 14, 2025, at the ITER Institute, founded by Mendonça in São Paulo, lasted about two hours and was scheduled by federal lawmaker Cezinha de Madureira (PL-SP), the magazine reported.
The disclosure came a day after the secrecy was lifted on a Federal Police report containing messages between Vorcaro and a number linked to Justice Alexandre de Moraes. On Wednesday, court president Edson Fachin said he would announce "appropriate and necessary measures" in the coming days after reviewing the facts, and the court held its first plenary session since the revelations. Mendonça remains the justice in charge of the Master case.