Daniel Vorcaro, the former owner of Banco Master, held at least R$ 14.3 billion across 16 lawsuits whose payoff depended on rulings by Brazil's higher courts. The tally was published by Folha de S.Paulo on Wednesday and rests on a report by the law firm Galdino Advogados obtained by the newspaper. Known in the market as pre-precatórios, these rights to future indemnities paid by the federal government were one of Master's core businesses and, according to the paper, sit at the root of the web of contacts Vorcaro built inside the judiciary.

The document was drafted in 2024, paid for by Vorcaro himself and later handed to the central bank to support its supervision of Master, which was probing inconsistencies at the bank. The opinion estimated the odds that the claims against the state would be paid, and when. It did not assess whether the price carried for the assets on the bank's books was fair, a gap pointed out by investigators in the case, according to Folha.

How the bet worked

The main case concerns price controls set by the Sugar and Alcohol Institute (IAA) in the 1980s and 1990s. Mill owners argued the policy forced them to sell ethanol and sugar below production cost and sued for compensation. The federal attorney general's office (AGU) counts 178 such lawsuits. According to the Federal Justice Council, certificates already issued for the sugar and ethanol sector total about R$ 47.8 billion, and Brazil's 2025 budget guidelines law projects a R$ 79.6 billion fiscal impact.

The business logic was to buy these rights for roughly 20% of each claim's estimated value. Whenever the STJ or the STF, the country's two top courts, embraced readings favorable to payment, holders pocketed billion-real gains covered by the public treasury, since winning suits later become precatórios, the court-ordered debt certificates the state must honor. A contract obtained by news site Metrópoles shows the scale: R$ 427 million in fees, equal to 5% of what the bank would collect in 12 cases that could unlock R$ 8.5 billion in precatórios.

Messages and rebuttals

Vorcaro's ties to judges have surfaced through messages pulled from his phone, seized in the Master investigation now before the Supreme Federal Court (STF) under Justice André Mendonça. In one exchange cited by Folha, the banker and legal director Luiz Rennó discuss paying R$ 500,000 a month to lawyer Kevin de Carvalho Marques, son of Justice Kassio Nunes Marques. The paper reports that Kevin has amassed nearly R$ 28 million in just over two years of practice.

In a statement, Justice Kassio Nunes Marques said:

"He never voted in favor of Daniel Vorcaro, never exchanged messages with him, and never asked the banker for anything. The Justice also never authorized anyone to speak on his behalf. Any attempt to link the Justice's work with services provided by his son or any third party is irresponsible."

Master also held a R$ 129 million contract with the firm of Viviane Barci de Moraes, the wife of Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Contacted through the court's press office, the justice did not respond. At the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), messages show Justice Benedito Gonçalves telling Vorcaro he was "always available"; he did not answer Folha's questions when the chats surfaced. Some investigators in the case have taken to calling the banker the judiciary's "concierge".

The timeline below recaps the case:

• 1980s and 1990s: the IAA sets ethanol and sugar prices; mills sue the federal government for compensation.
• 2024: Vorcaro pays for the Galdino Advogados opinion on the claims; the document goes to the central bank.
• July 2026: federal police send the STF justices the hard drive with messages from Vorcaro's phone.
• September 2026: Justices Cristiano Zanin, Flávio Dino and Gilmar Mendes demand the full file; Folha publishes the R$ 14.3 billion mapping.

Vorcaro is under investigation and jailed in the Master case. The next known step is the justices' review of the full hard drive, requested last week. Mendonça denies steering the probe. No date has been disclosed for the inquiry's next moves.