Corinthians fear leaks, send confidential data to court | OneFootball

The board of Corinthians began delivering, this Monday, all documents requested by the São Paulo Public Prosecutor's Office (MP-SP), which is investigating the possible misuse of the club's corporate cards during the tenure of the last three presidents, Augusto Melo, Duilio Monteiro Alves, and Andrés Sanchez, as well as invoices issued during Duilio's three-year term.

The club was studying the best way to provide the documents to the MP-SP and, this Monday, sent the data in court, delivering them directly to the Judiciary, under a request for confidentiality, and not to the prosecution. The MP-SP will thus have access granted by the judiciary.

“The material was filed by the club and delivered to the judiciary, in order to meet the requests made by the Public Prosecutor's Office. Corinthians emphasizes that it will deliver any requested documents, aiming to safeguard its brand and reputation as well as to comply with due legal process,” Corinthians said in a statement.

The Gazeta Esportiva team found that the club chose to send the documents to the Judiciary due to the understanding that the banking and tax data, protected and sensitive, could leak to the press and fans, risking liability for those involved.

The stance of prosecutor Cássio Roberto Conserino drew attention from the club's directors. The MP-SP representative gave an interview to Rádio Bandeirantes in recent days and left the impression among Corinthians' directors that he exposed the “Corinthians” brand negatively, showing an interest in disclosing confidential details of the investigation.

(Photo: Reproduction/Corinthians TV)

By sending the documents directly to the Judiciary, the top management of the club believes that it will guarantee the necessary confidentiality of the preserved data, also allowing the Public Prosecutor's Office to access the documents by requesting them from the judge responsible for the case. Therefore, any subsequent leak would not result in responsibility for anyone at the club.

The desire of Corinthians' top management remains to contribute to the investigation and deliver all documents requested by the São Paulo Public Prosecutor's Office. Monday's meeting served only to define how the process will be conducted.

As revealed by Gazeta Esportiva over the weekend, the president Osmar Stabile was under internal pressure not to provide the documents requested by the MP. However, it was later understood that the data, although confidential, relate to the club's credit cards and not to those of the former presidents. The president, therefore, decided to send them and cooperate with whatever is requested by the public authorities.

See Corinthians' official statement in full:

“Sport Club Corinthians Paulista informs that it began this Monday (08) the delivery of financial department documents covering the period from 2018 to 2025, as requested by the São Paulo Public Prosecutor's Office.

The financial and legal departments clarify that there was a delay in gathering the first set of information due to the invasion on May 31, when documents were stolen.

The material was filed by the club and delivered to the judiciary, in order to meet the requests made by the Public Prosecutor's Office. Corinthians emphasizes that it will deliver any requested documents, aiming to safeguard its brand and reputation as well as to comply with due legal process.”

UNDERSTAND THE CASE

The Criminal Investigative Procedure (PIC) was initiated by the Public Prosecutor's Office in mid-June of this year. At the time, the agency also scheduled hearings with the current president, Osmar Stabile, vice president Armando Mendonça, and the president of the Deliberative Council, Romeu Tuma Júnior, to understand the functioning of Corinthians' corporate cards.

Initially, the MP's investigation would only cover the periods of Andrés Sanchez's (2018 to 2020) and Duilio's (2021 to 2023) administrations. However, after hearing some testimonies, the agency decided to also investigate Augusto Melo's term. In addition to alleged embezzlement, possible crimes of fraud, aggravated theft, ideological falsehood, and criminal association are also being investigated.

The case came to light at the beginning of July, when Andrés admitted to having improperly used the card to pay for personal expenses in Tibau do Sul, Rio Grande do Norte, at the end of his last term in 2020.

(Photo: Reproduction/YouTube)

Days after the revelation of the expenses, he reimbursed Corinthians with interest and monetary correction. The former president, however, will face disciplinary proceedings before the club's Ethics and Discipline Committee. Fans are calling for punishments and even Andrés' expulsion.

There was also a charge of alleged personal expenses during Duilio Monteiro Alves' administration. However, the expenses are not necessarily linked to the former president. He does not recognize the invoices and filed a police report at the Sports Intolerance Crimes Police Station (Drade/Dope), requesting that this be included in the ongoing police investigation, which reports the circulation of false and manipulated documents.

At the beginning of September, the MP asked the Judiciary that Andrés, Duilio, and Augusto Melo be temporarily removed from the Corinthians Deliberative and Advisory Councils during the investigation. So far, however, there has been no response from the Judiciary.

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