Former banker Daniel Vorcaro commissioned apocryphal videos against journalists Malu Gaspar and Lauro Jardim, from the newspaper O Globo, in order to discredit their coverage of Banco Master. The information was revealed by the newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo.
The defamation strategy, put into practice through videos that did not indicate the respective authorship, came to light through conversations found by the Federal Police between Vorcaro and the bank's then superintendent of communications and marketing, Ana Lúcia Matos.
Ana Lúcia told the newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo that she did not have access to the original material and that she has no way of verifying its authenticity. He also added that he has been subjected to public exposure without access to the necessary elements to fully exercise his defense.
Vorcaro's defense denied, in a statement last month, that he had committed, committed or been involved in "any act of violence, intimidation, persecution or threat against anyone".
The newspaper O Globo said it strongly repudiated the defamation campaign planned against the two journalists, adding that Malu and Lauro are two of the most respected professionals in the country.
"This is yet another attempt to intimidate the press and discredit professional journalism, a fundamental pillar of democracy. Globo and its journalists will not be intimidated and will continue to investigate and report, with rigor and independence, facts of public interest", stated the vehicle.
In messages obtained by investigators, executive Ana Lúcia Matos sent scripts and draft videos for Vorcaro's approval. In one of the excerpts, the banker says to "remove Globo" from the text and "attack physics", with the aim of directing the attacks directly at professionals, individuals, and saving the vehicle. "I'm going to put this together. I'd love to help Globo along with it," she replied.
One of the texts written by Ana Lúcia Matos said that "Malu Gaspar is the Mother Diná of Faria Lima". "He writes articles with all the certainty in the world... it's a shame that they are almost never confirmed. And the sources? They can only be flying saucers: everyone talks about it, but no one has ever seen it!"
Regarding Lauro Jardim, the superintendent proposed writing: "Funny, right? The Globo journalist even seems to have an access badge to the Malzoni building, in São Paulo — practically a permanent collaborator at BTG." In the building mentioned in the message, the headquarters of BTG Pactual are located.
“What does he do so much there, guys?”, continues the text. "Cafe with a view of Faria Lima? Brainstorm on the agenda? Because, what's really interesting, is that in his notes... from BTG we don't see anything."
"Lauro with the badge is going to go viral. He'll become a sticker," Ana told Vorcaro.
According to the Federal Police, Daniel Vorcaro maintained a private militia to coerce and threaten his enemies.
In March, it became known that he even planned a fake assault against Lauro Jardim as a form of intimidation, in WhatsApp messages. "This Lauro, I want to have him beaten. Break all his teeth. In a robbery," wrote Vorcaro, according to an excerpt reproduced in the process.
According to the former banker's lawyers, the speeches in the group "were spoken in moments of indignation".
It also became public, in July, that former banker and publicist Thiago Miranda, from the Mithi agency, carried out a search for Malu Gaspar's private data. In messages obtained by the PF, Vorcaro tells Miranda that they would have to "try to get something from this woman in person", to which he responds: "Exactly. She plays it low. I'm going to turn her life around."
