Brasilia - In yet another chapter of the scandals involving the Master case , the Federal Police launched the third phase of Operation "Compliance Zero" on the morning of Wednesday, March 4th, which again arrested Daniel Vorcaro and brought to light a group of messages through which the banker threatened or intimidated opponents.
The Federal Police investigations are looking into the "possible commission of the crimes of threats, corruption, money laundering, and hacking into computer systems, perpetrated by a criminal organization."
The operation also revealed a structure called "The Gang," through which Vorcaro gave orders for intimidation, persecution, and illegal monitoring of potential opponents or those considered adversaries, in addition to obtaining classified information from agencies such as the Federal Police, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, and even the FBI.
In one of the conversations, revealed in the decision of André Mendonça, the new rapporteur at the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Vorcaro instructs Luiz Phillipi Machado de Moraes Mourão - known as "Felipe Mourão," his person in charge of operating this private surveillance network of enemies and opponents - to simulate a robbery against journalist Lauro Jardim, from the newspaper O Globo , after the publication of news contrary to the banker and his businesses.
“I want to have him beaten up. Break all his teeth. In a robbery,” said the owner of Master. After this request from Vorcaro, Mourão responds with two thumbs-up symbols, thus indicating "yes".
Subsequently, Mourão also responded: "We are on top of all the negative links, we will take them all down and release positive ones," he stated, referring to possible news related to the Master case and Vorcaro.
In another threat, which appears in the messages from this cell phone group, Vorcaro orders his right-hand man to investigate even a maid named Monique.
“DV [Daniel Vorcaro]: Maid Monique is threatening me. Can you believe it? That bitch needs to be crushed.” And he asks Mourão to pull up “everything” about his maid.
According to the investigations, Mourão also offered to "put 'The Gang' in place" to intimidate another Vorcaro employee, who allegedly made an unwanted recording of him, according to Mendonça's decision.
In the messages, there is an exchange of personal documents of the employee who was to be intimidated, and Vorcaro instructs Mourão to "find out everything on both of them," who would be his employee and a chef associated with him. "The good thing is to shake up the chef first. The other one will already be scared."
Mendonça's decision also includes WhatsApp messages sent by Fabiano Zettel to Vorcaro regarding a payment to a Central Bank employee, Belline Santana, who was the head of the Banking Supervision Department. Zettel asks Vorcaro: "Today you have to pay Belline's first installment, ok?". The banker authorizes it. And in another text, Zettel returns to Vorcaro: "Belline is asking for payment. Will you pay?". Vorcaro then replies: "Of course".
The Federal Police investigations also uncovered unauthorized access to systems belonging to the Federal Police, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, and even the FBI. "...there are indications of unauthorized access to the confidential systems of the Federal Police, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office itself, and even international organizations such as Interpol."
The text continues: "Therefore, if the measures requested by the Federal Police are not accepted as a matter of urgency, it could jeopardize the safety and even the lives of people who have become victims of the illegal acts identified in these proceedings, as well as significantly hinder the recovery of billions of dollars in assets that were diverted from public coffers and from private individuals affected by the various crimes against the national financial system investigated in these proceedings," says the decision, which also reinforces that the delay in making decisions within the scope of the investigations "is extremely dangerous for society."
Areas of activity
The police operation was ordered by Minister Mendonça after Dias Toffoli abandoned the Master case. Vorcaro's brother-in-law, Pastor Fabiano Zettel , was also the target of an arrest warrant. He surrendered late in the morning of Wednesday, the 4th, at the Federal Police headquarters in São Paulo.
According to the findings of the Federal Police, the scheme was made up of four main operational units: the financial unit, which structured frauds against the financial system; the institutional corruption unit, aimed at co-opting public servants from the Central Bank; a unit for "asset concealment and money laundering, using intermediary companies"; and a final unit for "intimidation and obstruction of justice," responsible for the illegal monitoring of adversaries, journalists, and authorities.
The Federal Police are also investigating the alleged use of Central Bank employees to inform Vorcaro about regulatory actions taken by the monetary authority related to the case. The banker was first arrested in November of last year, following an alleged scheme involving fraud estimated at R$ 12 billion between Master and BRB . Subsequently, his bank was liquidated by the Central Bank.
"Investigations also indicate that Daniel Bueno Vorcaro maintained direct and frequent communication with Central Bank of Brazil officials responsible for banking supervision, discussing issues related to the regulatory situation of the financial institution and forwarding documents and drafts to the supervisory authority for prior analysis," says an excerpt from Mendonça's decision.
