Police seize R$20,000 in cash from Mara Casares' home during operation | OneFootball

Civil police officers from the 3rd Precinct of the Division of Investigations into Crimes against the Administration (DPPC) launched an operation on the morning of Wednesday (21) in conjunction with the State Public Prosecutor’s Office and executed four search and seizure warrants against the three main suspects in the so-called ‘VIP box scandal’, when former São Paulo directors Mara Casares and Douglas Schwartzmann were caught on audio illegally selling spaces in Morumbi Stadium during a concert.

At the home of Mara Casares, ex-wife of Julio Casares, the suspended president who had an impeachment process authorized by the Deliberative Council, the searches were successful, resulting in the seizure of R$ 20,000 in cash, as well as extensive documentation and a CPU.

“We have quite a lot of documentation that was collected today, about which we will not comment. The four warrants issued by the court were successfully executed, two people were not at the locations, which did not prevent the execution of the warrant,” said José Reinaldo Carneiro Guimarães, State Prosecutor of São Paulo.

“Documents were collected at all locations, and the documents collected allow us to see the seriousness and extent of the facts, including the time span, which is much longer than imagined. We will not speak about what is still absolutely under investigation,” the prosecutor explained.

At the residence of Rita de Cassia Adriana Prado, accused of negotiating and reselling the VIP box and responsible for recording the audio that led to the complaint, the search was unsuccessful in locating the suspect: her children, who were present, informed that she currently lives at another address. However, relevant notes were found there.

Finally, at Schwartzmann’s residence, it was found that the target is traveling abroad.

The precautionary measures are part of an investigation into the crimes of coercion during legal proceedings, criminal association, and private corruption in sports, according to the police.

“It’s a much longer period than supposed, that’s for sure. I ask you to understand that at this moment the investigation is not commenting on the results of the search warrants regarding documentation, obviously it’s not possible to talk about that,” Guimarães added.

“Mara was located and at the four addresses—two of Adriana, one more of Mara, and one of Douglas—the operations were very successful. All locations have items seized that are useful for the ongoing investigation. The seizures made today were very successful, that’s our assessment at this moment,” said the prosecutor.

In a statement, São Paulo said that “it is a victim in this case and will cooperate with the authorities in the investigation.”

The Civil Police were alerted to a possible scheme at the club by a complaint sent by mail. In the same investigation, Casares and his family are also being investigated for receiving R$ 1.5 million from São Paulo, in deposits split directly into his bank account. There is also another ongoing investigation into 35 withdrawals from the club’s accounts totaling R$ 11 million. The withdrawals were made between 2021 and 2025.

According to police chief Tiago Fernando Correia, São Paulo is being treated as a victim, similar to the case involving Corinthians and the million-dollar contract with a betting company. Both investigations are led by the same police chief.

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