The Joint Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPMI) of the National Social Security Institute (INSS) approved, this Thursday (4), the summoning and breaking of the telematic, banking and tax secrecy of the owner of Banco Master, Daniel Bueno Vorcaro. The CPMI also approved the summons of the governor of Minas Gerais (MG), Romeu Zema (Novo).
Both came into the CPMI’s sights due to the investigation into possible irregularities in the offer of payroll loans to INSS retirees and pensioners, a topic that is one of the objects of the joint commission.
The president of Banco Master, Vorcaro, was arrested, and later released, accused of fraud in operations in the financial market that could total R$12 billion, according to the Federal Police (PF).
The CPMI rapporteur, deputy Alfredo Gaspar (União-AL), argued that Vorcaro’s summons is necessary because Banco Master is one of those that registers the most complaints about payroll loans.
“´[A convocação] is necessary to provide clarifications about the institution’s performance in offering financial products to retirees and pensioners, including payroll loans, which can justify the high number of complaints received by the National Consumer Secretariat, Senacon, in recent years”, he explained.
The sending of the financial intelligence report on Vorcaro’s banking transactions, produced by the Financial Activities Control Council (Coaf), was also approved.
The CPMI also approved the call for directors from banks Daycoval, Pan, Agibank, and BMG. On the other hand, requests to summon directors of banks Santander, Crefisa, C6 and Zema Financeira were rejected.
Governor Romeu Zema
The CPMI also approved, with protests from the opposition, the summons of the governor of Minas Gerais (MG), Romeu Zema (Novo). The request to hear the governor was presented by deputy Rogério Correia (PT-MG).
The parliamentarian states that Zema Financeira, linked to the governor of Minas, was one of the beneficiaries of Provisional Measure (MP) 1,106 of 2022, from the Jair Bolsonaro government, which allowed loans granted to beneficiaries of Bolsa Família, at the time called Auxílio Brasil.
“Zema was one of the few financial institutions authorized by the Central Bank to offer the line of credit, which discounts the direct portion of the payment made by the government to vulnerable families by up to 40% of the value of the benefit”, wrote the parliamentarian from Minas Gerais.
Governor Romeu Zema sent a note to CPMI asking not to be summoned and informing that he left the company Zema Financeira after winning the election for the government of Minas in October 2018.
“The applicant can clarify absolutely nothing about the institution’s role in offering financial products to retirees and pensioners, including payroll loans,” Zema’s defense informed CPMI.
Representative Correia countered that the governor left the company’s management because the legislation requires it, but highlighted that he remains a shareholder of the financial institution.
“He couldn’t be part of this finance company to be in the state government. That’s why he left. But I wanted to tell you that he still holds 16.41% of the shares. His father, Ricardo Zema, 51% of the shares. His brother, Romero Zema, 16.41%. And Luciana Zema, who is his sister, 16.18%. If you add them up, 100% of the Zema family”, he said.
Representative Adriana Ventura (Novo-SP) regretted that the CPMI approved the call, and not Governor Zema’s invitation. Unlike the invitation, the summons obliges the person to appear before the commission.
“We really want Governor Zema to come to show how politics is done, how to make the state more transparent and he made himself available to be invited to come here and he will come,” said Adriana.
