{"id":97522,"date":"2026-02-13T12:34:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/?p=97522"},"modified":"2026-02-13T12:34:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:34:37","slug":"justice-exits-master-case-after-link-to-owner-emerges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/justice-exits-master-case-after-link-to-owner-emerges\/","title":{"rendered":"Justice exits Master case after link to owner emerges"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Police cite Dias Toffoli in probe tied to Daniel Vorcaro, founder of failed bank; Supreme Court reassigns inquiry to Justice Andr\u00e9 Mendon\u00e7a<\/em><\/strong><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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02\/13\/2026\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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After weeks of intense pressure, Supreme Court Justice Dias Toffoli stepped down on Thursday (12) from overseeing the criminal investigations involving Banco Master.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The decision came after a meeting of all 11 justices, called by Chief Justice Edson Fachin, who had opened a proceeding questioning Toffoli\u2019s impartiality\u00a0following the discovery of references to him in the phone of Daniel Vorcaro,<\/a>\u00a0the bank\u2019s owner, by the Federal Police.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The matter had already been submitted to the Office of the Attorney General (PGR).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Toffoli\u2019s departure was announced in a statement released after the meeting. The investigations into Banco Master and Vorcaro will now be handled by Justice Andr\u00e9 Mendon\u00e7a, chosen through a random draw.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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During the meeting, Fachin shared the findings of a report by Federal Police Director Andrei Rodrigues, which included references to Toffoli found in Vorcaro\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The meeting also addressed Toffoli\u2019s defense. Earlier in the day, he acknowledged being a partner in Maridt, a company that sold part of its stake in the Tayay\u00e1 resort to a fund connected to Fabiano Zettel, Vorcaro\u2019s brother-in-law.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Under pressure<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Valor learned that during the meeting Toffoli argued he should remain in charge of the investigation but decided to step aside after pressure from colleagues. The overall atmosphere was tense. The justice also defended himself over the issues raised in the Federal Police report. Afterward, fellow justices began presenting arguments against his continued oversight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Once the justices supported replacing the rapporteur as a way to contain criticism of the Court, Toffoli agreed to relinquish control of the investigation. After hearing his colleagues, he no longer \u201cdug in\u201d to remain in charge of the proceedings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cAt the request of Justice Dias Toffoli, taking into account his prerogative to submit matters to the court\u2019s president to ensure the proper handling of proceedings, and in view of the high institutional interests at stake, the Supreme Court presidency, after hearing all justices, accepts his communication to transfer the cases under his rapporteurship so they may be freely reassigned,\u201d said the statement signed by all ten other justices, including Toffoli himself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The justices unanimously agreed there were no grounds to proceed with the motion questioning Toffoli\u2019s impartiality. The statement also said the court recognized \u201cthe full validity of the actions\u201d taken by Toffoli in the case and expressed their \u201cpersonal support\u201d for him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Before stepping away from the case, Toffoli took a measure investigators described as \u201cdoubling down\u201d: on Thursday, he ordered the Federal Police to submit to the Supreme Court the full contents extracted from the phones and computers of those under investigation in the Banco Master probe, including Daniel Vorcaro.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The order called for the delivery of forensic reports on \u201cthe material in question, including telematic, digital, and telephone data.\u201d It also included other \u201cevidentiary elements\u201d that had already been documented but not yet sent to the inquiry overseen by Toffoli.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The meeting was announced at the start of Thursday\u2019s plenary session. The session ended early, and the meeting began around 4:30 p.m., paused at 7 p.m., and resumed at 8 p.m. The statement was released shortly after.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On Monday (9), Federal Police Director Andrei Rodrigues personally delivered to Fachin the report citing Toffoli. The material was based on data extracted from phones belonging to individuals under investigation in the Master case, including Vorcaro. According to a report by journalist Malu Gaspar in O Globo, the document includes phone calls between the two, an invitation to Toffoli\u2019s birthday party, and conversations with others about payments related to the Tayay\u00e1 resort.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The police did not formally request the justice\u2019s recusal. As they are not a party to the case, they cannot do so. However, the information raised doubts about Toffoli\u2019s continued role as rapporteur, given potential conflicts of interest and questions about impartiality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Toffoli\u2019s defense<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Since the revelations surfaced, Toffoli issued two statements in his defense. The first, sent to reporters on Wednesday night (11), claimed the police report was based on \u201cspeculation.\u201d In the second, issued Thursday morning, he admitted being a shareholder in Maridt, the family company that sold part of its stake in the Tayay\u00e1 resort to a fund linked to Vorcaro\u2019s brother-in-law, Fabiano Zettel. The justice denied receiving any money directly from Vorcaro or Zettel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cJustice Dias Toffoli is part of Maridt\u2019s shareholder structure. The company is managed by the justice\u2019s relatives. Under the Organic Law of the Judiciary, Article 36 of Complementary Law 35\/1979, a judge may be a shareholder in a company and receive dividends, but is prohibited from performing managerial duties,\u201d said the second statement released by Toffoli\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He also acknowledged that Maridt\u2019s stake in Tayay\u00e1 was sold to Zettel\u2019s Arllen Fund on September 27, 2021. The remaining shares were sold to PHD Holding on February 21, 2025. Toffoli said in the statement he was not familiar with Arllen\u2019s fund manager.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe justice does not know the manager of the Arllen Fund and has never had any friendship, let alone a close friendship, with the defendant Daniel Vorcaro. Finally, the justice clarifies that he has never received any money from Daniel Vorcaro or his brother-in-law Fabiano Zettel,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Toffoli also said the entire transaction was \u201cproperly declared to the Federal Revenue Service\u201d and that \u201call sales were made at market value.\u201d As for the Master case, he said he only took over as rapporteur in November 2025. \u201cBy then, Maridt had long ceased to be part of the Tayay\u00e1 Ribeir\u00e3o Claro group,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Internal crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Justices said the recent revelations involving Toffoli had created a new kind of crisis within the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Court members and close observers noted that the tribunal is accustomed to external pressure\u2014such as criticism of rulings and accusations of interference in other branches\u2014but Toffoli\u2019s connection to the Tayay\u00e1 resort and the mentions found on Vorcaro\u2019s phone triggered an internal crisis, casting doubt on one justice\u2019s impartiality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Had Toffoli not stepped aside, one alternative under consideration was sending the case to a lower court. That\u2019s because a formal ruling of bias could lead to the annulment of the justice\u2019s decisions, delaying the conclusion of the investigation into the fraudulent credit scheme at Banco Master. The Supreme Court\u2019s internal rules state that if bias is alleged or declared, all acts performed by the justice in question are rendered null.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In a private conversation with Valor, one justice said that while Toffoli enjoys the goodwill of his peers, \u201cthere are limits.\u201d \u201cHe has the sympathy of the majority, but not for just anything,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One source described the moment as \u201ca unique situation,\u201d saying they could not recall a similar episode involving the head of the Federal Police personally delivering evidence of a possible conflict of interest between a justice and a person under investigation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The rise of pro-impeachment rhetoric has unsettled members of the Court. But one of them said it was too early to tell whether the situation had reached that level of severity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Since taking over the Banco Master inquiries, Toffoli had insisted he would not step aside, even as scrutiny over his actions grew. Initially, he maintained that stance even after reports surfaced that his relatives had ties to the funds mentioned in the investigation.<\/p>\n

*By\u00a0Tiago Angelo\u00a0and\u00a0Giullia Colombo, Valor\u00a0\u2014 Bras\u00edlia<\/p>\n

Source: Valor International<\/p>\n

https:\/\/valorinternational.globo.com\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Police cite Dias Toffoli in probe tied to Daniel Vorcaro, founder of failed bank; Supreme Court reassigns inquiry to Justice Andr\u00e9 Mendon\u00e7a         02\/13\/2026\u00a0 After weeks of intense pressure, Supreme Court Justice Dias Toffoli stepped down on Thursday (12) from overseeing the criminal investigations involving Banco Master. The decision came after a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8106],"tags":[26764,26765],"class_list":["post-97522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-murray-news","tag-justice-exits-master","tag-police-cite-dias-toffoli-in-probe-tied-to-daniel-vorcaro"],"yoast_head":"\nJustice exits Master case after link to owner emerges - Murray Advogados<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/justice-exits-master-case-after-link-to-owner-emerges\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Justice exits Master case after link to owner emerges - Murray Advogados\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Police cite Dias Toffoli in probe tied to Daniel Vorcaro, founder of failed bank; Supreme Court reassigns inquiry to Justice Andr\u00e9 Mendon\u00e7a         02\/13\/2026\u00a0 After weeks of intense pressure, Supreme Court Justice Dias Toffoli stepped down on Thursday (12) from overseeing the criminal investigations involving Banco Master. 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