Benfica SAD accused of sports corruption, offer of improper advantage and tax fraud

The goal, according to the complaint, was to put money into the sadino club, which had financial problems. The Public Ministry accuses Luís Filipe Vieira and Paulo Gonçalves (former legal advisor) has diverted millions of euros from Benfica, through fraudulent contracts in the transfer of Brazilian players.

The prosecutors claim that the Benfica paid 4.2 million euros in commissions for two free players worth 725 thousand euro In a case there are crimes of corruption with economic participation in business and tax fraud, within the scope of the process known as the e-mail case.

The pronouncement can be read that if there is conviction, it must be Benfica and Vitória de Setúbal refrain from “participating in sports competition for a period of six months to three years”.

Regarding Luís Filipe Vieira and Paulo Gonçalves, the MP wants “prohibition from exercising a profession, function or activity, public or private, for a period between one and five years”.

Rui Costa was cleared, but the SAD incarnate was accused by the Ministry of the Public of sports corruption crimesimproper offer of benefit and certified tax fraud. Domingos Soares, the former manager of Benfica, also went from being a defender to being a witness for the prosecution.

This is because There is no evidence that Rui Costa and Domingos Soares Oliveira participated in the alleged schemewhose mentor would be Benfica’s vice-president, Luís Filipe Vieira.

A The judicial police also investigatedin the same period (between 2016 and 2019), the the performance of the Vitória de Setúbal football team in matches against Benfica. The investigation concluded that the Rio club benefited from it poor performance on the field, allegedly on purpose, by some players from the sadino club.

Sport Lisboa e Benfica has already responded in a statement confirming that it will defend itself against “baseless accusations”. “There is no doubt that Sport Lisboa e Benfica will defend itself, relentlessly, against all baseless accusations (and from what has already been done, these are baseless)”.

In the same note, the red club says that its lawyers will “analyze the allegation”.