Banco Master payments to top companies expose possible shell firms

Between 2022 and 2025, ten firms received roughly R$1.2 billion from Brazil's Banco Master in transactions classified as services. Four of the firms – Midias Promotora, Telure, Metanoein and Nanook – show signs of being shell companies or have inconsistent registration data at the Federal Revenue Service.

The remaining firms are linked to the bank's leadership. Ouro Negro Empreendimentos and Participações topped the list with almost R$220 million; it is directed by David Lopes Monteiro, brother of Daniel Lopes Monteiro, an attorney detained in the Compliance Zero operation. Terra Firme da Bahia received about R$186 million; its owner, Augusto Lima, is an ex‑partner of the bank and also detained. Other companies named include MSG, MDSV and a branch of Terra Firme. The only firm without a clear pattern is the Barci de Moraes office, owned by the wife of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The investigation, based on data provided to the CPI of Organized Crime, includes statements such as a spokesperson for Zero Burocracia saying the firm was hired only for “services paralegais” and had no direct link to the case.