André Mendonça Leads Brazil's Master Bank and INSS Corruption Probes

Lawyers for senator Flávio Bolsonaro asked Supreme Court president Edson Fachin to transfer the investigation of the film‑financing case involving the Master bank to Justice André Mendonça, arguing that the current assignment to Justice Flávio Dino represents a “forum shopping” maneuver. The request cites a recent decision that recognized Mendonça as the appropriate relator for matters linked to the Master bank scandal.

In parallel, defense teams for several preventive detainees in the Master bank and INSS corruption cases are betting that Mendonça will replace some prison orders with lighter precautionary measures after the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (PGR) files formal charges. While the minister has already altered conditions for a few individuals—granting house arrest to a lawyer and removing an electronic ankle monitor from a senator’s brother—he has emphasized that any release will follow the legal criteria of article 312 of the Penal Code and not automatically follow the PGR’s filings.