Federal Police Probe Alleged Paid Campaign Targeting Central Bank and Febraban Over Banco Master

Overview

• The inquiry seeks to determine whether influencers were hired, whether posts were paid, and who financed the effort tied to the bank’s liquidation.
• A concentrated 36‑hour wave involved at least 46 profiles attacking the Central Bank, with targets including former director Renato Gomes, president Gabriel Galípolo, and supervision chief Aílton de Aquino.
• Febraban reported an atypical volume of sector posts at the end of December and is assessing whether the surge constituted a coordinated attack, noting a recent decline in volume.
• Data firm Datrix tracked 50.8 thousand mentions of Febraban from Dec. 1 to Jan. 7 and found that posts linking it to Banco Master generated about 220.5 million impressions and 20.7 million interactions, concentrating 72.9% of interactions and showing anomalous spikes such as Dec. 24 and 27.
• Reporting says some right‑wing influencers were offered proposals under a project dubbed “DV” to push the view that the Central Bank acted precipitously, with figures like Rony Gabriel and Juliana Moreira Leite saying they declined.