Jack’s moves: Suspended director once charged with money laundering | OneFootball

The more attentive São Paulo fan certainly knew well the names of the two directors who were removed after being accused of allegedly illegally selling tickets for Morumbi suites during a show in the first quarter.

One of them, Mara Casares, has a close connection with President Julio Casares, as the current cultural director of shows and events at the club was the president's ex-wife.

Now, the spotlight is once again on Douglas Schwartzmann, who was responsible for the youth categories of the Tricolor.

Well, the former director has been collecting accusations and controversies since 2014 within Morumbi.

In 2021, he was indicted for money laundering of funds allegedly embezzled from the club during Carlos Miguel Aidar's administration (2014-2015).

He was acquitted along with other accused directors, but the details of the story are important. Schwartzmann appeared in the infamous clandestine recording made by former vice-president Ataíde Gil Guerreiro in 2015. On that occasion, the strong man of São Paulo football recorded a conversation with then-president Aidar.

“Douglas is asking for a commission on everything, he came here, shamelessly,” said Aidar. At the time, Schwartzmann was the director of marketing and communication. The recording eventually led to Aidar's resignation, and along with several other serious allegations involving the administration, it was investigated by the São Paulo State Public Prosecutor's Office.

In September 2021, the MP-SP filed a complaint. Schwartzmann himself, former president Aidar, his ex-girlfriend Cinira Maturana, former legal director Leonardo Serafim, and several people outside the club became defendants. The MP pointed out in the accusation the existence of an alleged embezzlement scheme from a contract with the law office of lawyer José Roberto Cortez.

Through the breaking of confidentiality, the agency stated that funds were paid to the office and then returned to Aidar, Cinira, and Serafim through complex financial operations.

The column had access, at the time, to the breaches of confidentiality. Douglas was not benefited by any transfer, but he was accused of money laundering – according to the MP-SP, he allegedly participated in an operation to hide the origin of the money through the purchase of a property and a financial transaction.

All the narrated events happened between 2014 and 2015. Julio Casares was, at the time, vice-president in the administration, but he did not become a defendant and is not mentioned in the investigation.

In June 2022, all the directors were acquitted of all charges.

A statement from São Paulo in the process, in which the club deemed the payments under investigation as regular and due and stated there was no indication of theft, was crucial in the court's decision. The supposed victim said there was no crime.

At the time of this statement, already under Casares' administration, Douglas Schwartzmann was the executive secretary of the presidency. Serafim, another defendant in the process, did not hold a position but was an important and trusted ally of the board – he even appears in images of the 2021 Paulista title celebrations.

The acquittal was confirmed by higher instances, paving the way for Schwartzmann to assume the position of deputy director of the youth categories in Cotia. He held the position until today, when he took leave following the new accusation involving the clandestine sale of suites, published by ‘Globo Esporte‘.

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