Corinthians legal chief responds to link with probed company | OneFootball

Corinthians’ legal director Pedro Luis Soares spoke out after his name was linked, in his capacity as an accountant, to one of the companies included in the investigations conducted by the São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP-SP) regarding possible financial irregularities that occurred during Duilio Monteiro Alves’ administration.

According to information published by Gazeta Esportiva, the director’s name appears as the registered accountant for the company Centro Automotivo Skapneu LTDA, whose registration status is listed as active. The company is under investigation by authorities on suspicion of issuing fraudulent invoices, which were used to justify irregular expenses at the club.

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Contacted by the outlet, Pedro Soares sent an official statement in which he justifies his strictly professional relationship with clients of his accounting and legal office. In the statement, the director emphasized that he did not perform executive functions nor was part of internal committees during Duilio’s term.

“I have run an office for over 20 years based in Tatuapé, with hundreds of clients concentrated in the East Zone of São Paulo, including several around the club. The responsibility of our office, and as a professional, is to ensure that every accounting operation is declared, a fact evidenced by the invoice issued by the client, which is recorded in the registers of the Federal Revenue Service of Brazil. It is not within the scope of our contract, nor is it our responsibility, to oversee the commercial operations carried out by our clients,” he stated.

In the same statement, the director stressed that he did not even hold a position on the Deliberative Council at the time. “I take this opportunity to mention that I was not even a council member in the previous administration, as our slate was not elected,” he added.

Pedro Luis Soares took over as Corinthians’ legal director in September 2025. Before that, he served as secretary of the Guidance Council (Cori). In his current position, he is responsible for institutional dialogue with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and other authorities on the various investigative fronts involving former club officials.

At the time, as a member of Cori, the director was among the nine council members in favor of opening an internal investigation into the use of the corporate card. Recently, his name has been mentioned in the club’s political backstage as a possible candidate for the presidency.

Context of the Investigation

The MP-SP recently expanded the scope of investigations related to the administration of Duilio Monteiro Alves, Corinthians’ president between 2021 and 2023. The investigations are analyzing possible practices of embezzlement, misuse of corporate cards, and issuance of unsupported invoices.

In January of this year, the São Paulo Civil Police opened an inquiry to investigate suspicions of financial irregularities in the final period of the administration. Among the elements under review is a presidential expense report that lists 176 purchases made between September 26 and October 31, 2023, totaling R$ 86,524.62. The transactions would include personal items. The former president did not acknowledge the authenticity of the document and filed a police report with the Sports Intolerance Crimes Unit.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office also indicated the existence of advances totaling R$ 1,278,798.10, released without proper supporting documentation, according to the prosecution. New names have been added to the investigation, including Roberto Gavioli, suspended financial manager, and Wesley Melo, former Corinthians financial director.

Duilio Monteiro Alves was charged by the MP for embezzlement related to the use of corporate cards. A similar situation also involves former president Andrés Sanchez. Expenses linked to the administration of Augusto Melo, who was removed last year, are also part of the ongoing analyses.

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