Andrés Sanchez clarifies corporate card use to Corinthians committee | OneFootball

Former president of Corinthians, Andrés Sanchez appeared at Parque São Jorge this Monday, accompanied by his lawyers, after being summoned by the Justice Committee of the Deliberative Council to provide clarification on the alleged improper personal expenses on the corporate card during his tenure at the club.

Andrés had already participated in a Cori (Guidance Council) meeting to clarify the situation, but the inquiry into the case had not yet been opened. This Monday, the Justice Committee proceeded with the internal investigation process.

According to Gazeta Esportiva, other names involved in the case are also expected to be summoned in sequence. The president of the club's Ethics Committee, Leonardo Pantaleão, will also attend the hearings.

Simultaneously with the internal investigation at Corinthians, Andrés Sanchez is also facing charges from the São Paulo Public Prosecutor's Office (MP-SP) for the crimes of aggravated continued embezzlement, money laundering, and falsification of tax documents.

(Photo: Daniel Augusto Jr/Ag. Corinthians)

In October this year, the Justice Committee of the Deliberative Council received all the invoices from the financial department for the three years of the former president's term, from 2018 to 2020. After analysis, the Committee listed approximately R$ 190,000 in suspicious expenses and summoned the former directors who were responsible for overseeing the card's use at the time to provide explanations.

Andrés, therefore, is another to be heard by the Corinthians Justice Committee. Previously, the internal body collected the testimony of Matias Ávila, the club's former finance director, who participated in the meeting via videoconference.

After the Justice Committee's analysis is completed, Andrés Sanchez's case will go to the club's Ethics and Discipline Committee, chaired by Leonardo Pantaleão. He will be responsible for issuing the opinion that will be sent to the Deliberative Council for Romeu Tuma Júnior to put the matter to a vote in the plenary.

Suspicious Expenses

As revealed by the report, the Corinthians Justice Committee identified a series of expenses considered suspicious and unrelated to the commitments of a president.

The body initially listed 50 expenses, identifying locations and amounts that totaled R$ 190,523.54. Among the main charges separated and reviewed by the CJ are expenses with hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, in furniture and electronics stores, as well as costs with an air taxi company and automotive centers.

The members of the Corinthians Justice Committee believe there is no evidence that such purchases were made for the club's use or the president's necessity. The expenses do not have any attached receipts.

MP-SP Complaint

On October 15, the São Paulo Public Prosecutor's Office charged Andrés Sanchez and the financial manager, Roberto Gavioli, recently removed from his duties, with aggravated continued embezzlement, money laundering, and falsification of tax documents, crimes related to the club's corporate card expenses between 2018 and 2020.

The period investigated by the MP-SP corresponds to Andrés Sanchez's last presidential term. Invoices from August 2018 to December 2020 were analyzed by prosecutor Cássio Roberto Conserino, who detected a series of irregularities, such as expenses on trips to Fernando de Noronha and Pipa, jewelry stores, clothing stores, gas stations, hospitals, among others.

The Public Prosecutor's Office is also demanding that Andrés Sanchez reimburse, with monetary correction, the expenses with Corinthians' corporate cards from August 2018 to December 2020. R$ 480,000 would have to be returned to the club, most of this amount paid by the former Corinthians president and a smaller portion paid by Roberto Gavioli.

The MP-SP's complaint is in the hands of the Judiciary for consideration. The case awaits a decision from Judge Dr. Marcia Mayumi Okoda Oshiro of the 2nd Court of Tax Crimes in São Paulo, who will decide whether to accept the complaint. If the case proceeds, Andrés Sanchez will become a defendant in a criminal case. There will be hearings, new testimonies, evidence production, and finally, a judicial decision.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.