A Federal Police report sent to Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court says negotiations over BRB’s proposed acquisition of Banco Master were discussed at a meeting in Zurich on 23 January 2025. Coverage across the political spectrum has focused on the same central finding: Ibaneis Rocha, then governor of the Federal District, attended the meeting with BRB president Paulo Henrique Costa and Banco Master controller Daniel Vorcaro.¹

According to the police account, the gathering marked the start of talks over the acquisition. Investigators cited messages recovered from the phones of Costa and Vorcaro indicating that Rocha had requested the meeting. Three days beforehand, Costa reportedly told Vorcaro that the governor had asked for it to be arranged.²

The report also places the Zurich meeting within a longer timeline. BRB had sought to raise up to R$1 billion through a share offering in October 2024, while Costa was already discussing an integration strategy with Master. In one message cited by investigators, he referred to preparing “the whole story we will tell in three months about the consolidation and the new bank.”² Police say those exchanges suggest planning preceded the formal stages of the proposed deal.

Investigators are also examining Rocha’s role in BRB’s strategic decisions, arguing that matters including capital increases, expansion and contacts with private-sector participants were subject to his prior review. That interpretation contrasts with Rocha’s defence. His lawyers say the report supports their position that Costa had autonomy to conduct negotiations for BRB, and deny that Rocha pressed the bank or intervened in the talks.²

The defence further says Rocha’s contacts with BRB officials occurred in an institutional context and that he was not a direct participant in the messages exchanged with Vorcaro. The police report forms part of the broader investigation into BRB’s attempted purchase of Banco Master.²