São Paulo prosecutors charge Andrés Sanchez, seek new payout for Corinthians | OneFootball

By Tiago Salazar and Thais Bueno

The São Paulo Public Prosecutor's Office (MP-SP) filed, last Friday, a new complaint against former president Andrés Sanchez and the suspended manager of Corinthians, Roberto Gavioli. Both were charged with money laundering and tax crimes. The agency is also demanding new financial compensation to the club from Parque São Jorge.

The new complaint from MP-SP concerns alleged personal expenses by Andrés Sanchez on Corinthians’ corporate card between August and September 2020, his last year in office. Among the expenses considered suspicious are the purchase of residential furniture and home appliances, as well as the payment for an air taxi service amounting to R$ 30,700.

These expenses pointed out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, however, are not new. As revealed by Gazeta Esportiva in October this year, the Corinthians Justice Committee identified 50 expenses considered suspicious, totaling R$ 190,523.54 that allegedly had no relation to the duties of a president. Among these expenses are the amounts cited in the new complaint from the agency.

(Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians)

The complaint, in turn, claims that the invoices for the products purchased by the former president were not issued in the name of Corinthians in order to hide the origin of the funds. In the case of the air taxi service, the invoice was issued in the name of Andrés Sanchez, although the payment was made with club funds, according to MP-SP. According to the prosecution, such actions constitute “elementary laundering.”

Roberto Gavioli, former financial manager of Corinthians during Andrés’ administration, was also again charged by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for omission. The former executive was responsible for overseeing the invoices and failed to do so, according to the agency.

MP-SP requests compensation from the club

Through the complaint, prosecutor Cássio Roberto Conserino requested that Andrés Sanchez and Roberto Gavioli compensate Corinthians for moral damages to the club, with an amount around R$ 101,000. The agency also requests the freezing of the former executives’ assets.

It now remains to be seen whether the complaint submitted to the 2nd Court for Organized Crime, Money Laundering, and Tax Crimes of São Paulo will be accepted or not. If the case moves forward, Andrés Sanchez and Roberto Gavioli will become defendants in a criminal proceeding. There will then be hearings, new testimonies, evidence gathering, and, finally, a judicial decision.

And the first complaint?

In October this year, the MP-SP had already charged Andrés Sanchez and Roberto Gavioli with aggravated continued embezzlement, money laundering, and forgery of tax documents, crimes related to expenses on the club’s corporate cards between 2018 and 2020.

On December 12, however, the São Paulo court rejected part of the complaint. The judge of the 2nd Court for Tax Crimes, Criminal Organization, and Asset and Value Laundering of the Capital, Marcia Mayumi Okoda Oshira, denied the charges of money laundering and forgery of tax documents. However, the MP-SP, through prosecutor Cássio Roberto Conserino, appealed the decision and accused the judge of partiality, emphasizing the practice of the two crimes rejected by the judge.

In light of the decision, the judge ordered the suspension of the decision favorable to the former Timão president and referred the case to the São Paulo Court of Justice, although she denied any partiality during the trial. The process is currently suspended until the TJ-SP decides whether or not the judge will continue to preside over the judicial proceedings.

Precautionary measures against Andrés Sanchez, however, remain in effect. The former president is prohibited from contacting witnesses and Corinthians officials and from leaving the country without judicial authorization. In addition, his assets have been frozen in the amount of $480,169.69 — corresponding to the amount classified as “irregular spending” by MP-SP, after interest and monetary correction.

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