Brazil’s Federal Police (PF) are intensifying an investigation into suspected financial crimes involving investment funds connected to the Tayayá resort. The probe is focusing on potential irregularities that may involve Maridt, a company owned by Supreme Court (STF) Justice Dias Toffoli and his family, which held a stake in the resort until 2021.
Key developments in the investigation include:
- Breach of Confidentiality: Investigators are moving to lift banking and tax secrecy on several investment funds, including the Arleen fund. This fund reportedly has ties to Banco Master and was the entity that purchased Maridt’s shares in the Tayayá resort.
- Targeting the “Master” Network: The PF is looking into a complex web of transactions involving Banco Master and its owner, Daniel Vorcaro. Police believe these funds may have been used for fraudulent financial activities.
- Impact on the Justice: While Justice Toffoli is not personally a target of the investigation, the PF expects that data collected from these confidentiality breaches will reveal transactions involving him and his family. The Justice previously stepped down as the rapporteur for the Banco Master case at the STF due to the potential conflict of interest arising from his family’s business dealings with the bank’s associates.
- Suspected Irregularities: Authorities are specifically examining “atypical” financial reports from Coaf (the Council for Financial Activities Control). There are suspicions that the resort’s financing and subsequent share sales involved favorable terms and potential money laundering.
- Political and Judicial Tension: This investigation coincides with a broader push by the “Organized Crime” CPI in the Senate to access Maridt’s financial records—a move that was recently blocked by fellow Justice Gilmar Mendes, sparking a jurisdictional clash between the Senate and the Supreme Court.
Justice Toffoli has consistently maintained that his involvement in the family business is legal and that all transactions were properly declared to tax authorities. He has not issued a new statement regarding the latest PF advancements.