Who is Augusto Lima, owner of Banco Pleno, former partner of Daniel Vorcaro, target of the PF and linked to PT members in Bahia

Jaques Wagner is the target of a new phase of Operation Compliance Zero
Banker Augusto Ferreira Lima, owner of Banco Pleno and former partner of Daniel Vorcaro, is the target this Thursday (18) of search and seizure warrants in the ninth phase of Operation Compliance Zero, from the Federal Police (PF). The bank's headquarters are in Alameda Santos, in the Jardins neighborhood, in São Paulo.
He had already been preventively arrested by the PF in November last year in the same operation and had the extrajudicial liquidation of Banco Pleno, decreed in February this year by the Central Bank of Brazil (BC).
Augusto Lima has been the controller of Banco Pleno since July 2025 and former partner of Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Banco Master. He has a history associated not only with fraud involving Banco Master, but also with names linked to the government.
According to Valdo Cruz's blog, the banker is close to PT members from Bahia - such as minister Rui Costa (Casa Civil) and the government leader in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA) - and began to gain notoriety after purchasing the supermarket chain Cesta do Povo, during the privatization of Empresa Baiana de Alimentos (Ebal).
Augusto Lima, owner of Banco Pleno
Vanner Casaes/Agência Alba
With the purchase, Lima also acquired Credcesta - a benefits card aimed at municipal and state public servants, which began in Bahia and later expanded throughout the country in partnership with Banco Master.
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According to a request from the CPMI of the INSS for the breach of banking secrecy in Lima, the expansion of Credcesta transformed the card into a consigned credit product "which spread across the country and became part of portfolios negotiated with investment funds and other financial institutions".
Also according to the document, a part The majority of these credits offered to retirees and pensioners was not informed to the authorities or did not have sufficient resources and structure to operate within the rules.
Lima was also CEO of Banco Master and acquired control of Banco Pleno in 2025. Central Bank authorization was granted in July last year.
According to Valdo Cruz's blog, it was Augusto Lima who approached Ricardo Lewandowski to hire him as legal consultant for Banco Master, with the intermediation of the government leader, Jaques Wagner. Lima also participated in Daniel Vorcaro's meeting with President Lula at the end of 2024.
Liquidation of Banco Pleno
The extrajudicial liquidation of Banco Pleno and Pleno Distribuidora de Títulos e Valores Mobiliários (DTVM) was decreed by the Central Bank of Brazil (BC) this Wednesday (18).
According to the BC, the conglomerate had a very small participation in the Brazilian financial system. Until September last year, it concentrated around 0.04% of all assets in the sector, which totaled more than R$18 trillion - the equivalent of approximately R$7.6 billion.
In funding, the share was 0.05% of the total of more than R$13 trillion, the equivalent of around R$6.5 billion.
Assets are everything that the bank owns or has to receive, such as loans and investments. Funding is the resources it receives from customers and investors, through deposits, CDBs and other products.
According to the BC, the liquidation of Banco Pleno was adopted after the worsening of the institution's economic-financial situation, which began to have difficulties in fulfilling its day-to-day obligations. economic-financial situation of the institution, with deterioration of the liquidity situation, as well as violation of the rules that govern its activity and non-compliance with the determinations of the Central Bank of Brazil."
Extrajudicial liquidation occurs when the Central Bank closes the activities of a bank that is no longer able to operate. A liquidator takes control, closes operations, sells assets and pays creditors in the order prescribed by law, until the institution is dissolved. The bank is also no longer part of the national financial system.
The BC informed that it will continue to investigate responsibilities. Investigations may result in administrative sanctions and the sending of information to other authorities. With liquidation, the assets of controllers and administrators become unavailable.

Source: G1