Former banker Daniel Vorcaro claims that donations of R$5 million to Bolsonaro and Tarcísio were bribes to maintain the Credcesta scheme

Former banker Daniel Vorcaro stated, in a plea bargain proposal rejected by the Federal Police and the Public Ministry, that the R$5 million donated to the campaigns of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) in 2022 were a bribe payment coordinated with Gilberto Kassab, president of the PSD.

Bolsonaro ran for President and lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT); he received, as an official donation, R$2 million from Fabiano Zettel, Vorcaro's brother-in-law. Tarcísio received another R$3 million, was elected governor of São Paulo and Kassab became his Government Secretary.

The report, revealed by UOL and confirmed by Folha, appears in three plea bargain proposals made by Vorcaro — all of which were rejected by the PF and the Attorney General's Office, who did not see unprecedented facts in the reports.

Tarcísio said that he "never had any contact or relationship with Daniel Vorcaro and is not aware of the fact mentioned in the report."

Kassab said that Vorcaro's version is "an absolutely fanciful account", which he "vehemently" refutes. Bolsonaro's defense was sought by the report, but did not respond until the publication of this text.

In the reports, the payments were classified as "financial counterparts" paid after an "improper adjustment with Gilberto Kassab".

The objective would be to keep Credcesta, a payroll credit card used by the network of companies linked to Master for financial maneuvers, in operation.

The operation began during the João Doria government (then in the PSDB), through a company linked to Augusto Lima, Vorcaro's former partner. According to the former banker, the bribe would be to maintain the scheme in view of Tarcísio's arrival in government, in January 2023.

"With the 2022 election in São Paulo and the emergence of Tarcísio de Freitas as the likely winner, Augusto Lima, responsible for Credcesta's expansion efforts, sought to guarantee the continuity of the business with the Government of the State of São Paulo", says Vorcaro in the statement.

The agreement with Kassab, according to Vorcaro, provided for the payment of 5% of the net result of operations with Credcesta and contributions to allied campaigns.

"The payment related to the electoral donation would initially be made entirely in cash. However, Gilberto Kassab or his interlocutors informed Augusto Lima that he would need to fulfill a commitment with partner political parties and raise resources, but that, in this case, the partner parties would only accept official donations", continues the former banker.

Vorcaro also states that the payments were made through two methods: R$5 million in campaign donations (in the case of Tarcísio and Bolsonaro) and R$10 million in slush fund, in cash, for Kassab's PSD.

The informal transfers were intermediated by Thiago Botelho, according to the former banker's report.

"I have no relationship with Daniel Vorcaro, I have never spoken to him, in person or on the phone. I know Augusto Lima and Thiago Botelho, but I have never dealt with Credcesta. I did not participate in or receive any donations from Vorcaro, de Lima, or Botelho. I never received amounts in kind. These are reports that I do not know the origin of and that have no factual support", said Kassab, in a note.

Tarcísio stated that his campaign was conducted within the law and highlighted that the accreditation of the company linked to Master to work with Credcesta took place during the previous administration.

During a live broadcast on social media this Thursday (3), senator and presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro (PL), Bolsonaro's son, said that Kassab "must have kept that money", if that is true. Flávio stated that Kassab is not an ally of Bolsonaro and mocked the information that he had raised funds for the 2022 presidential campaign.

"Do you want to believe that Kassab did something to benefit Bolsonaro's campaign? Kassab, who has three ministries in the Lula government? Don't be fooled, people. Whoever is reporting this has to do a certain filter," he said.

Vorcaro has been in prison since March and later tried to negotiate a collaboration agreement with authorities in prison.

In June, he went to the unit known as Papudinha, in the Federal District, after the PF and the Public Ministry rejected his second plea bargain proposal.

The possibility of Vorcaro trying to reach a new plea bargain was considered again two months after the second rejection and after yet another change in the former banker's defense team.

Attorney Daniel Bialski joined Vorcaro's team in August. In an interview with GloboNews, he stated that the owner of Master "wants to speak and wants to collaborate" once again, "if he needs to and if he has the opportunity".

In June, minister André Mendonça spoke publicly in a session at the STF (Supreme Federal Court) about plea bargaining. "They lost their modesty. They wanted to make selective denunciations. In my face."

At the time, the magistrate also said that he would not maintain the prison with the aim of obtaining a plea. "It would be absurd, and I'm not good at work like that."

Plea bargaining, according to the law, is a means of obtaining evidence and cannot, in isolation, support convictions without other information corroborating the statements made. In this case, the reports must still be investigated, as well as the materials presented in the agreement.