Court orders secrecy lifted for Casares and accused in VIP box scandal | OneFootball

The court ordered the lifting of the bank and tax secrecy of everyone involved in the scheme to illegally exploit a VIP box at São Paulo’s stadium.

The information was first reported this Tuesday (2) by the website Globo Esporte.

The decision directly affects the club’s former president, Julio Casares, his ex-wife and former director Mara Casares, as well as former officials Douglas Schwartzmann and Marcio Carlomagno, and intermediary Rita de Cassia Adriana Prado.

This is the first precautionary measure to reach Casares in this investigation — he is also being investigated for alleged money laundering at the club.

The request, accepted by the court, was made by the Task Force made up of prosecutors José Reinaldo Carneiro and Tomás Ramadan (Public Prosecutor’s Office) and detective Tiago Correia (Civil Police). With the measure, investigators will have full access to the targets’ financial and tax records over the past few years.

The decision was based on materials seized at Rita de Cassia’s home, testimony, and data provided by São Paulo regarding the distribution of concert tickets.

The case, revealed in December of last year, is entering its final stretch: almost all witnesses and suspects have already been questioned, with only Marcio Carlomagno’s testimony still pending before the next phase can move forward.

The case originated from the use of box 3A at Morumbi, an institutional space linked to the presidency, during singer Shakira’s concert in February of last year. According to the investigation, the space was informally passed on and ended up being commercially exploited by third parties, generating revenue of around R$ 132,000.

In audio recordings that became public, the two people involved discuss the operation and admit irregularities, with Schwartzmann saying: “There was business here where you made money, I made money, everybody made money.”

The situation worsened when the intermediary in the operation went to court after a conflict with a partner company, leading the officials to pressure her to withdraw the lawsuit. The fallout from the case resulted in the removal of those involved, the opening of internal investigations, and internal political developments that culminated in Júlio Casares resigning from the presidency and the dismissal of figures linked to the handling of the episode.

As a consequence of the scandal, Mara, Schwartzmann, and Carlomagno were expelled from the club. The proceeding seeking the same outcome for Casares is being reviewed by the Ethics Committee.

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