Brazil's Attorney General's Office (PGR) asked the Supreme Federal Court (STF) on Wednesday (2) to shelve the complaints filed by former banker Daniel Vorcaro in testimony given to the office of Justice André Mendonça. Vorcaro, jailed in Brasília as part of the investigation into Banco Master, said he had suffered threats in prison. Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet concluded there is no concrete fact that would justify investigative action.

Urgent, sealed testimony

According to a statement from Mendonça's office, Vorcaro testified on an urgent basis last Thursday (27) before an auxiliary judge who follows the case. The hearing was requested by his defense, which reported "grave intimidation", and took place without the Federal Police present. The contents remain under seal. Mendonça then sent the matter to the PGR to assess whether the testimony warranted new measures, CNN Brasil reported.

In its filing, the PGR ruled out opening an investigation based on the account.

"A careful examination of the terms of the testimony shows that the declarant reported no concrete or legally defined fact capable of prompting its own investigative measures, nor did he lend even minimal verisimilitude to the assertions made," the office said.

Case timeline

Vorcaro is held in connection with the Banco Master inquiry, in which the Federal Police cited indications that he ran a structure to monitor and intimidate opponents, with risks of evidence destruction, continued money laundering and interference in the investigation. Before the testimony, his defense had submitted two delação premiada proposals, Brazil's version of a plea bargain, and both were rejected by the PGR and the Federal Police. In the second rejection, prosecutors said the offer carried no effective commitment to return money and added nothing new, and in some points clashed with findings already gathered by investigators.

In Wednesday's filing, the PGR also refused to reopen negotiations. "The petitioner failed to change the factual premise that led to the earlier denial, and there is no sign of evidentiary potential or defect of will that would justify renewing the negotiated proposal," the document says. The office called continuing the petition "futile" and of no practical use, according to CNN Brasil.

The next step belongs to Mendonça. As the justice assigned to the petition, he will decide whether to grant the archiving request. No date has been set for that ruling.