Massis board hires private investigators over Casares at São Paulo | OneFootball

On the afternoon of Wednesday (28), São Paulo announced the hiring of FTI Consulting, a global consultancy specialized in crisis management, corporate investigations, and the structuring of governance and integrity practices, as well as the law firm Machado Meyer Advogados, to respectively conduct and supervise an independent investigation related to allegations of breaches of integrity linked to the club that were recently published in the media.

The joint work of FTI Consulting and Machado Meyer will be technical and independent in nature, focusing on fact-finding and recommending guidelines to improve internal controls and advance the governance practices of Tricolor.

With a global presence, FTI Consulting has extensive experience supporting large organizations in corporate investigations, business transformation, and crisis management. The consultancy works in an integrated manner with legal advisors and internal teams, offering independent analyses that underpin decision-making processes with greater foundation and clarity.

Machado Meyer is one of the most renowned law firms in Brazil, with recognized expertise in various areas of law, including compliance and investigations. Machado Meyer’s partner specialized in corporate investigations will act in this case as a member of the Independent Investigation Committee established to technically coordinate FTI’s investigative work.

According to São Paulo’s Director of ESG, Risk, and Compliance, Roberto Armelin, the choice of FTI Consulting and Machado Meyer aims to carry out the necessary investigations to clarify all facts related to the allegations of breaches of integrity with the highest standard of quality and independence, not only in the procedures but also in the presentation of the final result.

This initiative is part of a set of measures adopted by São Paulo itself after Harry Massis Júnior assumed the presidency, to promote greater transparency, integrity, and efficiency in management.

DARK FUTURE FOR THE FORMER PRESIDENT

The resignation of Júlio Casares from the presidency of São Paulo comes in the context of a series of investigations conducted by the Civil Police since the end of last year. The now former president is the subject of inquiries related to cash withdrawals from the club’s accounts and financial transactions considered atypical by oversight bodies. The inquiry is under the responsibility of delegate Tiago Fernando Correia, of the 3rd Division of Investigations into Crimes against Administration and Combating Money Laundering (Dicca).

The delegate states there is “consistent evidence that an alleged criminal association is operating a sophisticated scheme of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds.” The Civil Police is conducting the main investigation, while the Public Prosecutor’s Office is acting on two fronts: one focused on the alleged embezzlement scheme and another dedicated to investigating reckless management, with an emphasis on the origin of São Paulo’s billion-real debt.

Investigators are analyzing 35 cash withdrawals made between January 2021 and November 2025, totaling eleven million reais. The banks responsible for the accounts classified the operations as “atypical and incompatible with market practices for an entity of this size,” highlighting the difficulty in ensuring the destination of the funds. The last 33 withdrawals were carried out with the support of an armored car company, a method that, according to the police, makes tracking the money more difficult.

At the same time, investigators identified deposits into accounts linked to the executive’s family. Between January 2023 and May 2025, there were deposits of R$ 1.5 million in cash into a joint account of Júlio and Mara Casares, the former executive’s ex-wife. She held the position of director of women’s affairs, culture, and events at the club and took a leave of absence after accusations related to an illegal box office ticket sales scheme. The Coaf also cites cash deposits into the account of Deborah de Melo Casares, their daughter. In one case, on November 22, 2024, Mara deposited R$ 49,500 in cash, an amount below the automatic notification threshold.

The reports also indicate cash infusions made by Mara into the account of a company in which Deborah is a partner. The central point of the investigation is to determine whether there is a link between the withdrawals from São Paulo’s accounts and the deposits into the executives’ accounts. Casares claims that the amounts are backed and that the accusations are based on “weak versions.”

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