Brazilian authorities are maintaining the preventative detention of Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Banco Master, following revelations of highly unusual financial transactions involving investment funds, according to a ruling by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) on Friday.
The case centers around a series of rapid-fire investments and sales of fund quotas conducted by Vorcaro in late 2023, detailed in his 2024 income tax declaration submitted to a parliamentary inquiry. Between December 27th and 28th, 2023, Vorcaro purchased quotas in the Hans 2 Fundo de Investimento Part. Multiestratégia for R$2.5 million and sold them the following day for R$294.5 million – a staggering 11,472% increase, reported by Folha de S.Paulo.
A similar transaction occurred in May 2023, where Vorcaro invested R$10 million in the same Hans 2 fund and sold the quotas seven days later for R$160 million to the Astralo Fundo de Investimento Multimercado Crédito Privado I. Both purchasing funds are reportedly linked to Banco Master and have since been liquidated by the Central Bank.
When questioned by Folha de S.Paulo regarding the extraordinary valuations and the relationship between the funds, Vorcaro’s office declined to comment.
Federal Police investigations suggest the use of these investment funds as a mechanism to transfer resources from Banco Master to Vorcaro, his family, and associates, artificially inflating values without corresponding assets. The two transactions in question generated a total profit of R$441.9 million for Vorcaro, forming part of the R$631.6 million in capital gains he declared in 2024.
Data from Vorcaro’s income tax returns, submitted to the CPI do INSS, demonstrate a significant increase in his wealth over the past decade. His declared assets rose from R$2.9 million in 2015 to over R$2.6 billion in 2024. Annual income similarly increased from R$82.8 million (adjusted for inflation) in 2016 to R$570 million in 2024.
The STF’s decision to uphold Vorcaro’s preventative detention came after a virtual plenary session on Friday. Justice Dias Toffoli recused himself from the case, citing “forum íntimo” – a personal reason for disqualification – and the process will continue until Friday, March 20th.
