BNDES President defends Andrei Rodrigues after messages between Vorcaro and Moraes

The president of BNDES, Aloizio Mercadante, who acts as an informal consultant to President Lula (PT), came out in defense of the head of the PF (Federal Police), Andrei Rodrigues, after the release of messages between former banker Daniel Vorcaro and the minister of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) Alexandre de Moraes.

Andrei's performance has been put to the test after Vorcaro said he suffered psychological torture and mistreatment for not reporting facts linked to the PF in a possible denunciation. He would have mentioned the name of the general director.

Mercadante, however, reiterated his confidence in the conduct of investigations by the Federal Police and said that it was under Andrei's management that the corporation uncovered the fraud involving the Master bank.

The president of BNDES stated that it is unacceptable to question the actions of the head of the PF and states that the process is being instrumentalized for political purposes.

"It is unacceptable that they try to question the actions of Andrei and the Federal Police itself, based on lessons from a confessed defendant, who seeks to disrupt the investigations and interfere in the ongoing electoral process.

Andrei was mentioned in conversations between Vorcaro and Moraes. In a certain section, the former banker asked the minister for help to intervene with the director general of the PF in an attempt to interrupt the investigations.

The tone adopted by Mercadante is in line with what government officials have defended behind the scenes. A wing of the Lula government says that it is necessary to come to the defense of the PF and show that the body has the autonomy to conduct investigations.

The president of BNDES said that the head of the Federal Police has acted rigorously and ethically and also cited operations against organized crime, money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.