Central Bank Director Reports Hostile Environment and Secret Liquidation Process of Banco Master

Ailton de Aquino, the Director of Supervision at the Central Bank of Brazil, told the Federal Police that a hostile environment and intense information leaks led him to keep the decision to liquidate Banco Master secret from several colleagues. In his testimony, Aquino stated that he and Central Bank President Gabriel Galípolo did not trust anyone at the time and intentionally withheld the liquidation decision from Belline Santana, the former head of Banking Supervision, and Paulo Sérgio Neves de Souza, a former Director of Supervision.

Santana and Souza are currently under investigation for allegedly receiving payments from Daniel Vorcaro, the owner of Banco Master. Both have denied providing any favors to the former banker. According to Aquino, the two servers acted as intermediaries and insisted that Vorcaro be received for a meeting on November 17, the day before the official announcement of the bank's removal from the National Financial System.

During a teleconference on that day, Vorcaro proposed selling Banco Master to Fictor for 3 billion reais with the help of undisclosed Arab investors. Aquino testified that he remained neutral during the meeting despite Vorcaro's urgency and requests for a favorable opinion. Hours later, Vorcaro was arrested at Guarulhos airport while attempting to board a jet for the United Arab Emirates. While the Federal Police suspect the trip was an attempt to flee, Vorcaro denies this claim.

Aquino described the secrecy of the process as atypical. Normally, coordinators and department heads are informed in advance to prepare for a liquidation, but in this case, only Aquino, the president, the prosecutor, and the person responsible for execution were notified. Additionally, reports indicate there was a failed attempt to sell a 60 million reais apartment in São Paulo on the same day.

The conduct of the former managers is being analyzed by the Comptroller General of the Union in a disciplinary process that could lead to their expulsion. Simultaneously, the Central Bank is conducting a sanctioning administrative process regarding portfolios ceded to BRB, while the Federal Police investigate if the servers were financially rewarded for providing information.