The defense of Daniel Forcaro, owner of Banco Master, filed a habeas corpus application for the banker’s freedom before the Supreme Court of Justice (STJ) on Monday. Forcaro has already received a request to leave prison that was initially denied by Judge Solange Salgado da Silva, of the Federal Regional Court for the First District.
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The judge stated in the decision that stopping the criminal acts was necessary and that Forcaro’s freedom, in the scenario of systemic fraud and obstruction of supervision found by investigators, would present a tangible risk.
Federal police arrested Forcaro last Monday when he tried to board a plane at Guarulhos Airport to leave the country. The operation, called Compliance Zero, investigates signs of fraud in transactions between Master and Banco de Brasília (BRB). In addition to Forcaro, other directors and associates were arrested. The head of the BRB has been removed from his position.
PF investigations indicate that Master may have handled approximately R$12 billion in false credit operations, loan simulations and negotiation of credit portfolios with banks.
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In a note distributed to the press on Saturday, Forcaro’s defense said that “the basis of the investigations” being conducted by the National Front “is a fact that does not exist.” “There is no fraud worth R$12 billion,” the memo says. “The precautionary measures authorized by the court are based on incorrect assumptions,” says the banker’s defense.
The defense still argues that the arrest was based on general arguments. The lawyers stated that the facts contained in the investigation are not contemporary and that the central bank removed any threat with its decision to extrajudicially liquidate Banco Master.
In a statement, BRB said it has “always acted in accordance with compliance and transparency standards, regularly providing information to the Federal Public Ministry and the Central Bank of Brazil on all operations related to Banco Master.” BRB is a public bank, controlled by the Federal District Government. Paulo Henrique Costa, the bank’s president, has been removed from his position.
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The federal police investigation that arrested Forcaro revealed evidence that BRB carried out inconsistent operations with Master in an attempt to survive from Daniel Forcaro’s financial institution while the Central Bank analyzed the bank’s sale offer. In March this year, BRB proposed buying Master, but the deal was rejected by the BC.