An investigation by the Federal Police pointed to a temporal coincidence between changes in the management of RioPrevidência and investments of almost R$ 3 billion in Banco Master. In July 2023, Deivis Marcon Antunes took over as president of the state pension fund, and months later, Eucherio Lerner Rodrigues was appointed to the Investment Directorate. Shortly after these appointments, Banco Master was accredited by RioPrevidência and the millionaire investments in financial letters issued by the financial institution began.
Investigation Findings
The changes in the management of RioPrevidência also included the appointment of Pedro Pinheiro Guerra Leal to a position linked to the investment area. Banco Master submitted a accreditation request to RioPrevidência on the same day Eucherio Lerner Rodrigues was appointed to the board responsible for the fund’s investments. The Federal Police state that the Court of Auditors of the State of Rio de Janeiro identified a “accelerated conduct” in the process of approving the operations. Furthermore, the applications occurred in long-term products, while RioPrevidência manages resources intended for the payment of retirements and pensions of state public servants.
The investigation pointed out that the investments started with an application of around R$ 970 million in financial letters issued by Banco Master. Subsequently, the investments migrated to funds linked to the bank, raising the total volume to approximately R$ 3 billion. The defense of those investigated denies irregularities and states that the operations followed technical and legal criteria. The Federal Police also set up a chronology crossing meetings between banker Daniel Vorcaro and former governor Cláudio Castro with the investments made by the state fund.
The chronology raised by the investigation also highlights the relationship between investments by RioPrevidência and the management of Banco Master. The bank was commanded by Daniel Vorcaro, who had meetings with former governor Cláudio Castro. These billionaire investments were made in a short period, which raised questions about the integrity of the process.
