Banco Master Case: Djamila Ribeiro Demands Justice After Sounding the Alarm on Possible Sex Crimes

Since February, Djamila Ribeiro has been demanding that investigators in the Banco Master case also look into possible sexual exploitation and trafficking of women connected to parties hosted by banker Daniel Vorcaro. In the following Instagram post, the Brazilian philosopher retraces how she sounded the alarm, from her first articles in Folha de S.Paulo to her outreach to Brazilian and international authorities. She also reaffirms the need for justice for the women involved.

“Banco Master and Sex Trafficking: We Warned You

On February 19, 2026, I published an article in Folha de S.Paulo, one of Brazil’s largest newspapers, that reshaped my work. In “Polícia Federal: e as mulheres?” (“Federal Police: What About the Women?”), I was the first in the Brazilian press to challenge the Federal Police’s line of investigation and to demand an inquiry into possible sex crimes, especially human trafficking for sexual exploitation, involving the foreign women who attended Daniel Vorcaro’s parties alongside government officials and other guests.

The article went viral. I received countless messages of support, but also attempts to discredit me, insults, and furious attacks. Putting those women at the center of the investigation confronted the silence surrounding powerful men.

I pressed on. On February 26, in “Caso Master: entre o escárnio e o silêncio” (“The Master Case: Between Ridicule and Silence”), I questioned the recurring arrival of foreign women in Brazil and the lack of any institutional response. With the support of followers here on this page, I built legal theories for investigating sex crimes under Brazilian law and the international treaties in force in the country.

On March 8, I took my allegations abroad for the first time, attending the Women Unite! conference at the invitation of Amsterdam’s mayor. I handed a report to Dutch authorities and to Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk. That opened doors to other forums and allowed me to establish contact with La Strada, an organization working to combat the trafficking of Ukrainian women and girls. I also took information to police in London.

In April, over dinner with Congresswoman Tabata Amaral, I explained the gravity of the case and urged her to file a formal request for an investigation with the Federal Police. She did so in May, joining Senator Damares Alves, who had filed a similar request several weeks earlier.

Only then, according to UOL, a major Brazilian news portal, did the Federal Police decide to investigate this dimension of the case. In Folha, I kept speaking out, especially about the absolute silence on sex trafficking in the negotiations over the banker’s plea deal (delação premiada). Those negotiations dominated front pages for months, yet no one except feminists had the courage to raise the issue.

The question I first raised in February remains unanswered. Now, with more voices: we want justice for these women!”.

 

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Um post compartilhado por Djamila Ribeiro (@djamilaribeiro1)

 

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Um post compartilhado por Djamila Ribeiro (@djamilaribeiro1)