Investor playboy fumes over revelation of Casares’ corporate card spending | OneFootball

A figure surrounding the backstage of São Paulo as a potential interested party in transforming the club into a SAF, Diego Fernandes struck again on social media.

The businessman, who promises investments of up to R$ 1 billion, expressed indignation when commenting with his personal profile on a news portal's post about the Tricolor, where it was reported that former president Julio Casares spent more than R$ 500,000 on personal use during the five years he was president of the Morumbi club.

Fernandes criticized the lack of control by São Paulo's internal bodies to precisely combat situations like this. He also insinuated that such situations hinder attracting investors willing to inject money into the Tricolor.

“The president spent, and no one noticed? Is there no accountability? Who oversees the president? And there are still fans who think a serious investor would put money into such an associative model,” he questioned.

“According to the statute, the board's accounts need to be analyzed by the Fiscal Council and approved by the Deliberative Council and the Assembly. If almost R$ 500,000 was spent on a corporate card, the question is simple: where was the Council? Who supervised? Who approved?” he added.

The businessman himself took a screenshot of the response and posted it on his social media minutes later, gaining broad support from fans.

An investigation by São Paulo's Fiscal Council found that former president Júlio Casares racked up nearly R$ 500,000 in personal expenses on the club's corporate card during his tenure. The expenses included hairdressers and luxury stores.

The data came to light after the body requested the card statements used by Casares, something that hadn't occurred since the start of his term in 2021. Until then, the corporate card's accountability had never been internally demanded. During this period, the club was going through a severe financial crisis, with salary delays at times and recurring difficulties in paying players' image rights. Even so, the then-president would have accumulated amounts to return to the Tricolor, averaging slightly over eight thousand reais per month in personal expenses.

Casares returned the money, with interest and monetary correction, only in the second half of last year. GE heard that there was no policy requiring the return of these amounts within a set timeframe, a guideline that was only created after the episode, initiated by compliance director Roberto Armelin. The previous absence of a specific policy and the lack of oversight and demand by the financial department, led by Sérgio Pimenta, displeased different factions of the club and the Deliberative Council.

On the other hand, there was also the argument that a specific rule wouldn't be necessary, as São Paulo's code of ethics and conduct would have sufficient guidelines to guide the conscious use of the corporate card. When contacted, the former official, who resigned last month amid an impeachment process, responded through a note sent by his lawyers: “(Casares) fully reimbursed any expenses that were not entirely consequent to the role he played at São Paulo.” The note adds that, in the absence of specific regulation, it was the former executive himself who requested the compliance unit to draft a regulation to discipline the use of the cards.

Armelin preferred to respond through the club's press office, and Pimenta did not comment. In a statement, São Paulo said: “Regarding the corporate card made available to the then-president, the financial department detected the need for improvement in the monitoring process of its use. As a result, the processes were adjusted, and the former president reimbursed the amounts, with the addition of interest and monetary correction.”

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