Former Governor Under Investigation in BRB Case May Be Arrested, Says Durigan | Brazil

Brazil’s Finance Minister Dario Durigan said in an interview with Veja that former Federal District governor Ibaneis Rocha, from the MDB party, may be arrested after investigations tied to the Master case involving Banco de Brasília (BRB). He framed the situation as a criminal matter rather than a financial one, saying the liquidity problem at the district-owned bank stems from serious wrongdoing. Durigan said the bank’s former president, Paulo Henrique Costa, is already in custody and suggested that the former governor is also under investigation and could face arrest based on what has emerged so far.

Durigan argued that the problem was created under a Federal District governor and should therefore be resolved by the local administration, not by the federal government or taxpayers across Brazil. He said it would be unacceptable for the bill to be spread among all Brazilians, stressing that the responsibility lies with the Federal District government. In his view, the key issue is whether BRB will collapse and leave liabilities for the district government or whether the current administration, led by Celina Leão of the PP party, will find a way to cover the losses over time.

The minister said the district would have had to pay the costs regardless, and therefore the burden should fall on the local government, especially on the official who was in office and authorized the transactions he described as at minimum fraudulent and highly harmful to people in the Federal District. Durigan’s remarks add pressure to the political fallout surrounding BRB and the broader Master investigation, which has already led to the arrest of the bank’s former chief executive.