Brazil's Federal Police says two officials who held command posts in the central bank's banking supervision department took bribes from Daniel Vorcaro, the former controller of Banco Master, to work as his informal advisers inside the very institution that was supposed to police his bank. According to the police, Paulo Sérgio Neves de Souza, then deputy head of the Banking Supervision Department, known as Desup, and Belline Santana, who headed the department, coached Vorcaro for meetings with central bank directors and with Roberto Campos Neto, the bank's president at the time, and reviewed supervision documents before the regulator saw them. The allegations are in a filing sent to the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Brazil's top court, on February 27, 2026. It became public on Thursday after Justice André Mendonça lifted secrecy on proceedings related to Banco Master, as BBC News Brasil reported. The case is at the investigation stage and no one named has been convicted.

In the investigators' reading, the two officials defended Master's interests inside the central bank and at times behaved like "employees" of the banker. The alleged advisory work began in October 2023, when Paulo Sérgio took his post: he suggested strategies, previewed internal central bank positions and told Vorcaro what to say in meetings with senior officials, the police says. It also says it found indications that Belline worked as an informal adviser consistently, in private meetings and in direct contact with Vorcaro. In December 2023, according to G1, Paulo Sérgio proposed talking points for the banker's meetings with the "Presi"; in testimony, he confirmed that "Presi" meant Roberto Campos Neto. The main milestones of the case, according to the documents now public, are:

• October 2023: Paulo Sérgio becomes deputy head of Desup and, according to the police, begins advising Vorcaro; Fabiano Zettel records the first payment to Belline.
• February 2024: before a meeting between Vorcaro and the supervision director, Ailton Aquino, Paulo Sérgio warns the banker he may face questions about the asset manager Reag, according to BBC News Brasil.
• January 2025: a list of payments due that month sets aside 750,000 reais for Belline alone.
• March 28, 2025: BRB, a bank controlled by the Federal District government, announces a deal to buy 58% of Master's total capital; the Compliance Zero operation points to about 12 billion reais injected through payroll loan portfolios of "highly dubious" origin.
• October 2, 2025: Belline creates the WhatsApp group "Master", with Vorcaro and Paulo Sérgio.
• February 27, 2026: the Federal Police signs its filing to the STF.
• September 10, 2026: Mendonça lifts the secrecy and the material becomes public.

Disney trip and monthly payments

In the police's reading, the messages show the work for the banker had a price. The two officials allegedly received material benefits paid by Vorcaro: a luxury Disney trip for Paulo Sérgio and his family, and monthly, repeated payments to Belline. The transfers to Belline were handled by Fabiano Zettel, the banker's brother-in-law. In October 2023, Zettel wrote: "Hoje tem que pagar a primeira do Belline, ok?" (Today we have to pay Belline's first one, ok?). Vorcaro answered: "Ok". In January 2025, Zettel sent Vorcaro the list of payments due that month. For Belline alone, it came to 750,000 reais.

The filing also documents the document review work. On April 25, 2025, Vorcaro asked Paulo Sérgio to check a draft reply to a termo de comparecimento, a formal central bank summons to give explanations. The official proposed replacing "captação de receitas" (revenue raising) with "captação de recursos" (fund raising), fixed a date and closed with "Importante protocolar rapidamente" (important to file it quickly). On October 27, 2025, the banker shared in the group "Master", opened by Belline with the message "Criei esse grupo, no intuito de facilitar nossa interlocução", a draft letter updating the bank's actions addressed to Desup itself: "Segue minuta para avaliação" (here is the draft for review). Paulo Sérgio also advised caution regarding BRB: "entendo imprudente citar problema no canal BRB" (I find it unwise to mention the BRB channel problem).

Testimony and the defenses

Testifying, Paulo Sérgio said his guidance came in a specific context, with Vorcaro complaining of persecution within the financial system: "Se o S1 está te perseguindo, quem pode fazer alguma coisa é a diretoria. Então, aproveite para falar com o Roberto" (If S1 is after you, only the board can do something. So take the chance to talk to Roberto). Pressed by the investigator, he called the episode "very specific". The investigator replied:

To anyone not used to your work, this looks much more like work as a consultant for the bank than for the central bank. You are working almost as a strategist-manager for Banco Master.

Lawyers for Paulo Sérgio de Souza and Belline Santana said the two always acted within their central bank duties and that contacts with Banco Master were strictly institutional, with no interference in supervision. Lawyers for Daniel Vorcaro and Fabiano Zettel declined to comment.

The messages are part of the Banco Master proceedings before Supreme Court Justice André Mendonça. All those named are investigation targets and hold the presumption of innocence until a final ruling. The next steps depend on any charges being formalized by the Federal Police and the prosecutor general's office, and on the justice's decisions on the inquiry. No date is set.