Fachin rejects senators' bid to disqualify minister in Master Bank case

Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) President, Minister Edson Fachin, has denied a request to disqualify Minister Kassio Nunes Marques from presiding over a case related to the Master Bank's Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI).

The disqualification request was filed by four senators – Eduardo Girão, Alessandro Vieira, Marcos Pontes, and Plínio Valério – who argued that Nunes Marques, the rapporteur for a writ of mandamus concerning the CPI, maintained a friendship with Ciro Nogueira. Nogueira is reportedly under investigation for his alleged involvement in a financial fraud scheme led by Daniel Vorcaro.

Minister Fachin deemed the request "inadmissible," stating it was submitted beyond the stipulated five-day period following the case's distribution, as per the STF's internal regulations. The writ of mandamus was distributed on March 26, 2026, making the deadline to contest the rapporteur's impartiality March 31, 2026. However, the senators' request was only filed on May 12, 2026, more than a month after the deadline expired.

The push for the Master Bank CPI has been ongoing, but it has faced resistance from Senate President Davi Alcolumbre, who has yet to act on the request for the commission's formation. Alcolumbre has publicly opposed the CPI, characterizing it as a political strategy for electoral gain. Due to this resistance, senators filed the writ of mandamus at the STF, which led to the case being assigned to Minister Kassio Nunes Marques. His long-standing relationship with Ciro Nogueira, who was a key figure in advocating for Nunes Marques's nomination to the STF by former President Jair Bolsonaro, has drawn scrutiny. Both Nogueira and Nunes Marques hail from Piauí and have known each other for years within the state's political and legal circles.