Overview
- Moraes said he met BC president Gabriel Galípolo twice in his office, on August 14 and September 30, denied any phone calls or visits to the Central Bank, and rejected having discussed the BRB–Master deal or exerted pressure.
- The Central Bank confirmed meetings with the justice to address the effects of U.S. Magnitsky sanctions, though its note did not state that other topics were excluded.
- Reports by O Globo and Estadão allege multiple contacts about the BRB purchase of Banco Master, including claims of up to six calls in one day and at least one in-person conversation, which Moraes disputes.
- Record checks flagged gaps and inconsistencies, including the absence of the confirmed meetings in Galípolo’s public agenda, wording changes in Moraes’s notes, and an error on the date of the U.S. sanctions.
- Political fallout intensified with opposition lawmakers pursuing impeachment and a possible CPI, as scrutiny focuses on a reported R$3.6 million-per-month contract between Master and the firm of Moraes’s wife, while Master was liquidated in November and its owner was arrested over alleged R$12.2 billion fraud.