Justice André Mendonça of Brazil's Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF), the country's top court, has told the court's president, Edson Fachin, that he did nothing irregular when he ordered the Federal Police report that identified fellow Justice Alexandre de Moraes as an interlocutor of Daniel Vorcaro, former controller of Banco Master. His response came one day before the session in which, for the first time in the court's history, the justices gathered to decide whether one of their own should face an investigation.

In a filing to the court, Mendonça said the material was handed to him in person by the Federal Police in August, and that given the mention, in the conversations, of the force's director-general, Andrei Rodrigues, and of the prosecutor general, Paulo Gonet, "it was all the more necessary to take action", according to Folha de S.Paulo. BBC News Brasil reports that the justice argued he had summoned the police delegates directly and in person out of caution, "without imputing any suspicion to anyone whatsoever", and that the inquiry had to respect the separation between intelligence work and judicial police duties, the preservation of secrecy, and the principle of functionality.

What Moraes alleges

On the eve of the session, Moraes sent Fachin a 44-page statement divided into 121 points, in which he denies any wrongdoing and accuses his colleague of "revenge" and of using the Banco Master inquiry for "political-electoral" purposes. He argues that he never interfered to help Vorcaro before the former banker's arrest in November 2025.

"Despite the farce that was mounted and publicized, there is absolutely nothing there, and everyone knows the political-electoral motivation behind these criminal lies. REVENGE. The attempt at revenge by the allies of those who tried to destroy Democracy and the Rule of Law, and were convicted by the Supreme Federal Tribunal, is very clear", the justice wrote.

According to BBC News Brasil, the exchanges gathered by the Federal Police show Vorcaro pressing for special attention to payments under a 131 million reais contract between Banco Master and the law firm Barci de Moraes, run by Viviane Barci de Moraes, the justice's wife. On February 8, 2024, the bank's treasurer sent Vorcaro proof of a 3.42 million reais transfer to the firm. Moraes denies any favoritism and is not a formal suspect in any inquiry.

The prosecutor general has also challenged Mendonça's conduct. In a filing presented on September 1, the day the justice made the messages public, Gonet asked that the decision be declared null. In the view of the PGR, Brazil's federal prosecution service, the inquiry exceeded the limits of a judge's role in the pre-trial phase, and the STF itself should decide on any investigation of one of its members.

Timeline of the case

• November 2025: Vorcaro is arrested; he is under investigation for suspected fraud estimated at 12.2 billion reais at Banco Master.
• August 2026: the Federal Police hands Mendonça, the rapporteur of the fraud inquiry, a report identifying Moraes as a Vorcaro interlocutor, with 52 exchanged messages.
• September 1: Mendonça makes the messages public; petition 16,662 opens at the STF and leads to Tuesday's session; the PGR asks for the order to be voided.
• September 14: Moraes files his statement speaking of a "farce" and "revenge"; Mendonça replies denying any irregularity.

At Tuesday's session (15), Fachin, who took over the case as rapporteur and votes first, said that "it is up to the plenary of the Supreme Federal Tribunal to investigate its members" and read from the PGR filing, which holds that the order to investigate Moraes is null for "exceeding the limits of a judge's jurisdiction". Two justices left the panel: Kássio Nunes Marques declared himself barred from voting because he heads the Superior Electoral Court in an election year, and Dias Toffoli declared himself biased as a matter of conscience. Nunes Marques denied ever ruling on Master-related cases and said his son never worked for the bank.

According to G1, Fachin has signaled to his colleagues that he intends to conclude the judgment on Tuesday itself. Moraes's allies do not rule out asking for more time to review the case, which would delay the decision. If the opening is authorized, Moraes would become an investigated party in an STF inquiry.