By Ricardo Brito
BRASILIA, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Brazil’s federal prosecutors will likely take four to six months analyzing evidence gathered in the latest operation probing liquidated lender Banco Master, a person in the prosecutor general’s office with knowledge of the case said on Friday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because plans are not public, the source said prosecutors must review court-authorized access to bank and tax records covering 101 individuals and companies as well as evidence seized from 42 locations, based on warrants approved by Brazil’s Supreme Court.
As a result, they are unlikely to reach their conclusions in the first half of this year. After that, prosecutors will decide whether to bring criminal charges against those involved, including the bank’s controlling shareholder Daniel Vorcaro.
Vorcaro’s lawyers said they had been informed of the search-and-seizure measures and reaffirmed that Vorcaro has been cooperating fully and continuously with the competent authorities. The defense denies the existence of any fraud attributed to the controller of Banco Master.
The evidence came from the second phase of a high-profile federal police operation on Wednesday targeting Banco Master.
Courts also froze 5.7 billion reais ($1.06 billion) in assets belonging to suspects under investigation for alleged crimes such as racketeering, fraudulent management of a financial institution, market manipulation and money laundering.
The first phase of the probe, in November, focused on the alleged use of fraudulent credits by the lender, which Brazil’s central bank put into liquidation on the same day.
While Banco Master accounts for less than 1% of Brazil’s total banking assets, its collapse has drawn scrutiny because the lender fueled its growth with high-yield debt marketed as being covered by Brazil’s private deposit guarantee fund.
Investors are now awaiting payouts from the fund for some 41 billion reais ($7.63 billion) in assets.
($1 = 5.3719 reais)
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
