Brazilian authorities are searching for assets, including art, linked to financier Daniel Vorcaro, CEO of the failed bank Banco Master SA, reports Bloomberg. Brazil’s central bank liquidated Banco Master last November due to a severe solvency crisis and regulatory violations and after a police investigation into its practices.
Officials allege that Banco Master, a mid-sized lender that had been rapidly expanding under Vacaro, engaged in fraud, including the creation of fake credit portfolios to boost its balance sheet. Its liquidation could cost the country’s deposit insurance fund as much as $10 billion if other smaller banks are affected.
Following the bank’s collapse, Vocaro’s own financial dealings have come under scrutiny, with Brazilian officials seeking to recover a portion of the lost funds. To this end, Banco Master’s liquidator, working on behalf of the central bank, filed papers in federal bankruptcy court in Miami last month to subpoena 22 entities.
The subpoenas suggest that Vorcaro, known for his extravagant lifestyle, patronized high-end galleries Gagosian and Pace, whose rosters include Mark Rothko, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol, as well as auction house giants Sotheby’s and Christie’s. He is also thought to own real estate in Miami, including an $85.2 million waterfront property sold to an undisclosed buyer last January.
Vocaro’s US lawyers filed an objection to the subpoenas on February 9, arguing that Banco Master, not he, is responsible for its debts. The judge will hold a hearing on March 4.
