Senator Jaques Wagner targeted in Brazil's Operation Compliance Zero, Phase 9

Brazil's Federal Police (PF) carried out the ninth phase of Operation Compliance Zero on Thursday, executing 18 search and seizure warrants in Bahia, São Paulo and the Federal District. The operation focuses on alleged irregularities involving the national financial system, with Senator Jaques Wagner (PT‑BA), the government’s leader in the Senate, and Augusto Ferreira Lima, a partner at Banco Master, among those investigated. Authorities say the facts under investigation could constitute passive and active corruption as well as money‑laundering. Measures such as a prohibition on contact between the suspects and the suspension of passports were also imposed.

The Supreme Court (STF) minister André Mendonça, acting as the case’s rapporteur, imposed a heightened level of secrecy on the investigation. According to press reports, this restriction kept PF director‑general André Rodrigues uninformed about the operation until it was already underway, even though he was accompanying President Luiz Inácio Lula abroad. The strict secrecy was intended to prevent leaks, and the investigation continues under STF supervision.

"Os fatos investigados podem caracterizar, em tese, os crimes de corrupção passiva, de corrupção ativa e de lavagem de dinheiro," the PF noted in its statement. Augusto Lima’s defense called the police actions "desnecessárias" but affirmed his cooperation with investigators.