Among dozens of requests approved this Wednesday (25) by the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on Organized Crime in the Senate, are those that determine the summons of the owner of Banco Master, Daniel Vorcaro, the former president of the Central Bank (BC), Roberto Campos Neto, and the Minister of Finance of Jair Bolsonaro’s government, Paulo Guedes.
When a person is summoned, going to the CPI is not optional, and the Commission may request the coercive conduct of the witness or the person being investigated in case of absence.
Fabiano Contarato says that the CPI is entering a new phase of investigation – Archive/Lula Marques/Agência Brasil
Still in this Wednesday’s session, the CPI broke the tax and banking secrecy of Banco Master and Vorcaro’s partners, including summoning other directors of the bank investigated for frauds estimated at between R$17 and 50 billion.
The confidentiality of Reag Investimentos was also broken, company that was liquidated by the BC in January this year on suspicion of participation in Banco Master fraud.
The president of the CPI, senator Fabiano Contarato (PT-ES), stated that the Commission is beginning a new phase of the investigation against organized crime.
“We need to stop concentrating the fight on specific actions on the outskirts and also take our investigations to the schemes upstairs”, stated the Espírito Santo parliamentarian.
The CPI also approved invitations, when attendance at the CPI is optional, to ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes and Dias Toffolialso in the context of the investigation against Banco Master.
Other invitations approved in the context of the Banco Master investigation were from the former Minister of Finance, Guido Mantega, the current Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, and the current president of the Central Bank (BC), Gabriel Galípolo.
Former Ministers of Citizenship
Randolfe Rodrigues defends the investigation into the deregulation of the financial market – Archive/Lula Marques/ Agência Brasil
Requests were also approved to summon, when there is an obligation to appear, the former Ministers of Citizenship of the Bolsonaro government, João Roma and Ronaldo Vieira Remo.
Senator Randolfe Rodrigues (PT-AP) argued that the summons of former Ministers of Citizenship are important due to alleged evidence that would link them to banker Daniel Vorcaro.
“It is important to highlight Mr. João Roma’s closeness to Mr. Ronaldo Bento, with the latter replacing him at the Ministry of Citizenship in 2022. It cannot be forgotten, also, that Ronaldo Bento is listed as one of the directors of Banco Pleno, owned by Augusto de Lima, and recently liquidated by the Central Bank,” he said in the application.
Deregulation under Campos Neto
The approved request to summon the former president of BC Campos Neto points out that the deregulation of the financial market under the Bolsonaro government would have favored the practice of fraud such as that of Banco Master.
Senator Soraya Thronicke (Podemos-MS) highlighted that Vorcado tried to obtain authorization to enter the financial system throughout the 2010s, but only obtained authorization during the presidency of Roberto Campos Neto at the Central Bank, in October 2019.
“The board of directors of the Central Bank, under the Presidency of Roberto Campos Neto, authorizes the transfer of control of Banco Máxima to Daniel Vorcaro, who later became Master. Roberto Campos Neto’s fingerprint is clear and indisputable”, said the parliamentarian.
The request presented by senator Jaques Wagner (PT-BA) cites resolutions approved by the Central Bank during Campos Neto’s administration that promoted the deregulation of the financial system.
“It is imperative that this Commission understands the logic and motivations behind these regulatory changes and assesses whether they, inadvertently or not, created an environment of less control that was exploited by criminal agents”, stated the senator from Bahia.
Marco Rogério says there is political-electoral motivation in the calls – Archive/José Cruz/Agência Brasil
The opposition opposed Campos Neto’s summons, saying that it had a political-electoral motivation, since the former president of the BC was appointed in the Bolsonaro government, as stated by senator Marco Rogério (PL-RO).
“What we are observing at the CPI, at this moment, is the attempt to bring into the debate public figures who had nothing to do, had nothing to do with the fact itself, to try to put them in the same ditch. Campos Neto was a President of the Central Bank respected by Brazil and the international community”, pondered the PL senator.
Paulo Guedes
Senator Randolfe Rodrigues (PT-AP), when justifying the request to summon former Finance Minister Paulo Guedes, said that it is necessary to investigate whether financial market deregulation policies between 2019 and 2022 created an environment for the expansion of money laundering.
“Policies were implemented that, under the pretext of modernizing and increasing competitiveness, weakened the control mechanisms of the financial system,” said Randolfe.
Paulo Guedes’ call was also opposed by the opposition, which denounced the “political-electoral use” of the CPI by government supporters, as highlighted by senator Sérgio Moro (União-PR).
“Nowhere in the press, nowhere, did any reference appear to his even remote involvement with Banco Master. And here we are going to call for what? To play a political game”, suggested the former Lava Jato judge.
Organized Crime CPI enters new phase of investigations – Saulo Cruz/Agência Senado
Unapproved requests
The CPI, on the other hand, rejected the summons of administrator Letícia Caetano dos Reis, identified as a former employee of senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) and sister of one of Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes’ partners, known as Careca from INSS, accused of operating the scheme to divert retirees and pensioners.
A request to summon the former Minister of Labor and Social Security of the Bolsonaro government, José Carlos Oliveira, also known as Ahmed Mohamad Oliveira, was also rejected.
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