Yellow card, red card, penalty and corner kick are among the bids required by bettors and recruiters for players investigated in the operation that investigates the manipulation of results in football matches. According to the Public Ministry of Goiás (MPGO), three suspects were arrested in São Paulo and 20 search and seizure warrants were executed, at least nine of them in athletes’ homes.
Until the last update, four athletes suspected of involvement in this 2nd phase of the operation have already been identified, they are:
- Victor Ramosex-Palmeiras, Vasco and Vitória, and currently defender at Chapecoense;
- Igor Cariúsleft-back for Sport Recife;
- Kevin Lomonacoplayer of Red Bull Bragantino;
- Gabriel Totaplayer of Esporte Clube Juventude.
O g1 did not locate the players’ defense until the last update of this report.
During a press conference on Tuesday, the Public Ministry detailed which were the 11 games that are targets of the second phase of the operation and explained what were the actions requested by the recruiters for the players involved (see details below).
“It does not necessarily mean that the athlete has, in fact, committed or practiced the punishment for which the financial amount was offered for that purpose”, clarified promoter Fernando Cesconetto.
Games investigated in the 2nd phase of the operation:
Brazilian championship:
- Santos 1 x 1 Hawaii – November 5, 2022
An athlete from Santos was asked to take a yellow card;
- Red Bull Bragantino 1 x 4 America-MG – November 5, 2022
They asked an athlete from Bragantino to take a yellow card;
- Goiás 1 x 0 Juventude – November 5, 2022
Two athletes from Juventude were asked to take yellow cards;
- Cuiabá 1 x 1 Palmeiras – November 6, 2022
They asked that a Cuiabá player be shown a yellow card;
- Botafogo 3 x 0 Santos – November 10, 2022
A Santos player was asked to take a red card;
- Palmeiras 2 x 1 Juventude – September 10, 2022
They asked that a Juventude player be shown a yellow card.
The amounts involved in co-opting Serie A athletes from the Brazilian Championship, according to the promoter, for yellow and red card punishment ranged from R$50,000 to R$60,000, per athlete, for each sporting event.
State championships:
- Goiás vs Goiânia – February 12, 2023
They asked for Goiânia’s defeat in the first half.
- Caxias vs São Luís-RS – February 12, 2023
They asked a São Luiz player to commit a penalty.
- Sports vs Novo Hamburgo – February 11, 2023
They asked a player from Novo Hamburgo to commit a penalty.
- Luverdense vs Worker – February 11, 2023
They asked for manipulation in the number of corners.
- English x Portuguese – February 8,
They asked that the athlete receive a yellow card.
In the case of state championships, amounts ranged from R$70,000 to R$100,000, depending on the promoter.
Understand how the group acted
The MPGO, through the Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco) and the Institutional Security and Intelligence Coordination (CSI), has already found that the criminal group managed to manipulate results of football matches after bribing players. The investigation showed that players were paid between R$50,000 and R$100,000 to carry out specific actions during matches.
In the first phase, the investigation showed that the scheme worked as follows: bettors made proposals for athletes to score penalties in the first half of each game. If the players accepted, the “down payment” was made. After the match, if the penalty had been taken, the players would receive the rest of the agreed amount.
In the second phase, the Public Ministry discovered that the investigated group also asked the players to take yellow and red cards, in addition to the request for the defeat of a team. According to the MP, there are indications that the conduct requested from the players was intended for those investigated to achieve high profits in bets placed on sports houses websites, also using accounts registered in the name of third parties to increase the financial return.
The investigation began in November 2022 after a complaint made by Vila Nova himself, who is a victim of the scheme, according to the MP.
First stage of operation
The “Maximum Penalty” operation was launched on February 14 of this year and, at the time, served nine search and seizure warrants, two of them in Goiânia and others in four states. During the action, businessman Bruno Lopez de Moura was temporarily arrested in São Paulo, suspected of being responsible for betting and intermediating contacts with players. Bruno left prison after a decision by the Court of Justice of Goiás (TJ-GO).
The Public Prosecutor’s Office investigation found that a Vila Nova player would have received a “sign” of R$10,000 to provoke a penalty in the first half of the game. If the penalty was scored – which did not happen, he would receive another R$ 140,000. As the appointment was not made, the bettor would have started to “charge” the player for the loss in the bet.
See who are the eight players who became defendants in the first phase of the operation:
- Mateus da Silva Duarte, known as Mateusinho (a player from Cuiabá);
- Marcos Vinicius Alves Barreira, known as Romário (former Vila Nova player);
- Joseph Maurício de Oliveira Figueredo (Tombense player);
- Gabriel Domingos de Moura (current Vila Nova player);
- Allan Godoi dos Santos (Sampaio Corrêa player);
- André Luís Guimarães Siqueira Júnior, known as André Queixo (former Sampaio Corrêa, currently at Ituano);
- Ygor de Oliveira Ferreira, known as Ygor Catatau (former Sampaio Corrêa, currently in Iran);
- Paulo Sérgio Marques Corrê (former Sampaio Corrêa, currently at Operário-P).
‘Nucleus of Action’ of gamblers
In the first phase of the operation, the MP said that, among those accused, six are members of a criminal group specializing in the practice of corruption in sports. The other eight are players. The agency discovered that the group was divided into “Núcleos de Accção”.
See who were the others denounced in the first phase of the operation, who made up “Nucleus of Action” of bettors:
- Bruno Lopez de Moura, known as BL (businessman arrested in SP, who led the actions);
- Camila Silva da Motta (Bruno’s wife and suspected of working in the Administrative Nucleus of Betting);
- Ícaro Fernando Calixto dos Santos (was part of Núcleo de Apostadores);
- Luís Felipe Rodrigues de Castro (formed part of Núcleo de Apostadores);
- Victor Yamasaki Fernandes (formed part of Núcleo de Apostadores);
- Zildo Peixoto Neto (was part of Núcleo de Apostadores).
According to the Public Ministry, it worked as follows: the “Núcleo Apostadores” was formed by those responsible for contacting and enticing players to participate in the criminal scheme. They also made payments to players and promoted betting on sports websites.
There was also the “Núcleo Financiadores” – yet to be identified. They were responsible for ensuring the existence of funds for the payment of enticed players and also for manipulated bets.
In addition, there was the “Núcleo Intermediadores”, these were responsible for indicating contacts and facilitating the approximation between bettors and athletes able to promote the manipulation of sporting events.
There was also the “Núcleo Administrativo”, which was responsible for making financial transfers to members of the criminal organization and also for the benefit of co-opted players.
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