Recent revelations about the scandal involving Banco Master and the close relationship between banker Daniel Vorcaro and Federal Supreme Court minister Alexandre de Moraes could expand the international reach of the investigations. The assessment was made by lawyer Martin De Luca, representative of Rumble and Trump Media in the United States, in an interview with the program Without beating around the bush and columnar Between the lines.
According to the jurist, the case gains relevance outside Brazil mainly because of the financial and patrimonial connections that Vorcaro has established in American territory in recent years.
“The more ties Vorcaro has with the United States, the more likely this will be of interest to American authorities,” he said. De Luca explained that, according to information he follows, the banker has expanded investments and acquisitions in the country. “He has acquired several properties and other assets in the United States, perhaps for his use, perhaps for the use of third parties”, he recalled.
For the lawyer, this type of international link could lead American bodies to observe more closely the developments in investigations involving the bank and its executives.
Possible interest from American authorities
During the interview, De Luca also commented on allegations that employees linked to Vorcaro had accessed confidential data from bodies such as the FBI, Interpol and the Federal Police.
If information of this type is confirmed, the issue tends to be treated with great rigor by the United States authorities, according to the lawyer. Still, he highlighted that the functioning of American investigations is usually very different from the Brazilian model.
“In the American system, secrecy is secrecy. No one ends up knowing that the investigation exists until the authorities are ready to present concrete accusations”, he explained.
De Luca recalled that he worked for six years as a prosecutor in New York and followed hundreds of criminal investigations. According to him, in the United States, the confidentiality of the investigative process is strictly maintained, including within the institutions themselves.
“This may be of great interest, but there may be a considerable gap of time between the emergence of information and any concrete action by the authorities,” he stated.
Legal dispute in the USA and the Hague Convention
Another point discussed in the interview was the blocking, by Brazilian authorities, of a request for judicial notification by Minister Alexandre de Moraes made by a United States federal court in the context of a process involving the Rumble platform.
In De Luca’s assessment, the decision goes against the spirit of the Hague Convention, an international treaty created precisely to facilitate judicial cooperation between countries.
“We have never had a Brazilian judge before who sent censorship orders to the United States to try to censor user content posted in the United States”, he reinforced.
According to him, this stance could have consequences for the country’s institutional image abroad. “This will generate a reputational cost that may harm the reputation of the Brazilian Judiciary for decades,” he said.
Despite the impasse, the lawyer states that the attempt to prevent notification does not interrupt the progress of the process in the United States.
“In practice, this does not stop the process in the United States,” he declared. Rumble’s legal team, according to him, has already requested authorization to use alternative notification methods. “We ask the Court to authorize notifying Alexandre Moraes in the same way he notified Rumble: by email,” he explained.
Diplomatic impacts and debate on Big Techs
De Luca was also asked about possible repercussions of the case on diplomatic relations between Brazil and the United States, especially in view of planned meetings between authorities from both countries.
In the lawyer’s opinion, the topic may be on the agenda because it directly involves American technology companies and debates about freedom of expression on digital platforms. “The protection of American platforms against regulatory abuse is a matter of very high interest to the United States government,” he stated.
He also mentioned legislative initiatives that seek to limit foreign attempts to impose censorship on US-based companies, such as the so-called Granite Act, initially discussed in the state of Wyoming.
“These matters are being considered in the United States Congress and have the potential to become federal law,” he added.
Brazil–USA relations and criticism of the Brazilian government
Commenting on the broader diplomatic scenario, De Luca stated that there have been recent attempts to reduce tensions between Brasília and Washington. However, he criticized what he considers a continuity of conflicts involving Brazilian court decisions against digital platforms. “Alexandre Moraes continues to violate Brazil’s own laws, as well as international treaties”, he pointed out.
The lawyer also criticized the Brazilian government’s recent positions on foreign policy, suggesting that certain statements could generate additional friction in international relations.
Rumble blocking and response to Anatel
At the end of the interview, De Luca commented on the episode in which the Rumble platform became temporarily accessible again to some Brazilian users through certain telephone operators.
After the fact, the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) stated that the situation could represent an attempt to circumvent court decisions that determined the blocking of the platform.
The lawyer challenged the technical explanation presented by the regulatory body.
“Anyone who has technical expertise on how blocks and platforms work understands that the explanation presented makes no technical sense at all”, he said.
For him, the episode illustrates the technical and legal difficulties involved in trying to restrict the operation of digital platforms on a national scale, especially when companies operate globally.
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