The 2026 dispute among Supreme Federal Court justices over the Banco Master case and rapporteurs' conduct, with investigation requests, procedural challenges, review requests and postponed judgments that started to weigh on the country's institutional risk.
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On September 17, 2026 Supreme Court president Edson Fachin removed from the docket the September 23 session that would examine the request to investigate André Mendonça's conduct as rapporteur of the Master case, citing Gilmar Mendes's procedural question interrupted by Flávio Dino's review request with a 4 to 3 score.
Updated November 10, 2026 · 9 verified articles
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Instability at the top of the judiciary raises Brazil's risk premium: it pressures long rates and the currency, delays rulings that affect listed companies and taints foreign investors' reading of legal certainty.
Explanatory mechanism, not a forecast or recommendation.Supreme Court President Edson Fachin closed on November 9 Inquiry 4781, known as the fake news inquiry, following a prosecutor-general opinion, without voiding evidence or criminal cases already opened, according to the Supreme Court and Exame.
Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin closed on October 27 three investigations linked to the fake news inquiry, including those of Eduardo Bolsonaro and Silas Malafaia, according to Agência Brasil, Gazeta do Povo and the Supreme Court.
Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) traveled to the United States less than 48 hours after losing the presidential election, without surrendering to the Federal Police the passports Justice Alexandre de Moraes had ordered handed over, according to Agência Brasil and CNN Brasil.
Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) said on October 26 that the Federal Police summoned him to surrender his passports and that he is barred from leaving the country, on the order of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in a court investigation, according to Gazeta do Povo and Money Times.
Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) said he does not recognize Lula victory and that his legal team will seek to annul the election, citing the extension of voting until 7 p.m. ordered by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin where polls were still open, according to Agência Brasil, CNN Brasil and the Supreme Court.
Justice Gilmar Mendes filed on September 22 a motion for the Supreme Court Second Panel to send to the full bench the dispute over compensation to the sugar and ethanol sector for price controls by the defunct Sugar and Alcohol Institute; the motion will be examined in a virtual session from September 25 to October 2. The goal is to standardize the requirement of individual expert proof of loss, set in a 2020 general repercussion ruling, across cases such as those of the Alcídia, Raízen and Jalles Machado mills. The impact is estimated at R$ 103.4 billion in the 2026 Budget Guidelines Law, according to Money Times, and up to R$ 145 billion, according to Gazeta do Povo. The move follows messages from Daniel Vorcaro, whose Banco Master bought Alcídia court-ordered payments, criticizing the justice stance against the payments.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes was drawn on September 21 as rapporteur at the Supreme Court of a writ filed by Curitiba city councilman Guilherme Kilter (Novo) seeking access to Senate entry records of Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Banco Master, of Viviane Barci de Moraes, the justice wife, of Fábio Luís Lula da Silva and of Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes. The request came after the Senate denied access under the Freedom of Information Law, and the case was originally filed in federal court in Paraná. According to CNN Brasil, Moraes may declare himself suspect or disqualified and ask Chief Justice Edson Fachin for a new draw.
A video released on September 20 by Lauro Jardim's column at O Globo shows Justice Alexandre de Moraes and his wife, Viviane Barci, disembarking on August 22, 2025 from a Prime Aviation aircraft, a company that had Daniel Vorcaro as a partner. The Barci de Moraes law firm, which provided services to Banco Master, said it hires air taxis from different companies on operational criteria, with no personal tie, and that Vorcaro was never on the flights. On March 31 Moraes had said in a statement he had never flown on a Vorcaro plane; the Federal Police identified at least eight flights between May and October 2025.
Supreme Court president Edson Fachin removed from the docket on September 17 the September 23 session that would examine the request to investigate André Mendonça conduct as rapporteur of the Master case. The decision cites the direct link to the procedural question raised by Gilmar Mendes on September 15, whose judgment was interrupted by Flávio Dino request for review with a 4 to 3 score. The Federal Police scheduled the depositions of Daniel and Henrique Vorcaro for September 30.