Justice André Mendonça ordered late on Thursday (10) the end of secrecy over the main investigations of the Master Bank case at Brazil's Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF), the country's highest court. The decision answers a request made hours earlier by the court's president, Edson Fachin. According to BBC News Brasil, the files are expected to become public on Friday (11).
Mendonça, the justice assigned to the case (the "relator"), released Petition 15,556, considered the main investigation, and 14 other proceedings tied to it. According to G1, the list includes Inquiries 5,026 and 5,035, Complaint 88,121 and Petitions 15,198, 15,478, 15,504, 15,562, 15,563, 15,693, 15,976, 15,977, 15,978, 16,019 and 16,662. Other cases connected to the probe remain sealed. The justice also ordered that full copies of the records be sent to the STF presidency and to the offices of the other justices.
"In harmony with the request made by the esteemed President, Minister Edson Fachin, I lift the secrecy of the records of Petition No. 15,556 and of the proceedings contained or related to it," Mendonça wrote in his order.
Fachin's request and a rift between justices
Fachin asked for the files to be opened after scheduling an extraordinary session for Tuesday (15) to judge the validity of a Federal Police report produced at Mendonça's request. The document pointed to a supposed relationship between Justice Alexandre de Moraes and former banker Daniel Vorcaro. In his letter to the justice, according to G1, the court's president argued that opening the records would give the justices access to the full set of information before the session, with an exception only for investigative steps whose disclosure could compromise future investigations. InfoMoney reports that Fachin asked for a hard drive with the data of Petition 15,556 to be sent to the justices' offices, excluding only information whose secrecy is considered essential to the probe. According to reporting by Andreia Sadi's blog at G1, Fachin had agreed the move in advance with Mendonça and received seven justices and Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet during the day, after canceling the court's session of judgments.
Petition 15,556 is the original core of Operation Compliance Zero, which investigates an alleged scheme of financial fraud and money laundering involving Banco Master and its owner, Daniel Vorcaro. It includes accusations against members of Congress and against Moraes. The dispute between Mendonça and Moraes escalated on September 1, when Mendonça released a Federal Police report with indications that Vorcaro had sought advice and exchanged information with the justice. Two days later, Moraes released police intelligence reports on alleged irregular conduct by Mendonça. On Wednesday (9), Fachin removed Moraes from his role leading the so-called Fake News inquiry and called the September 15 session. According to InfoMoney, some justices questioned Mendonça's initiative to investigate a member of the court itself without first submitting the matter to the full bench.
Attorney General of the Union Jorge Messias, the government's top lawyer, praised the decision on social media and noted that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had already asked for the secrecy to be lifted.
"Publicity is the rule of the Republic. Transparency protects institutions, ensures equal treatment of those involved, clarifies citizens' choices and allows society to know the facts without cuts, versions or selectivity," Messias wrote.
On Friday (11), the released files are expected to open to the public. On Tuesday (15), the full court is set to examine the Federal Police report and the steps for a possible investigation involving Moraes, which would proceed under Petition 16,662.