Corinthians legal chief reacts to link with probed company | OneFootball

The legal director of Corinthians, Pedro Luis Soares, spoke out after his name was linked, in the capacity of 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 the administration of Duilio Monteiro Alves.

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 justified his strictly professional relationship with clients of his accounting and legal office. In the statement, the director emphasized that he did not hold any executive positions nor was he part of internal committees during Duilio’s term.

“I have had an office for over 20 years based in Tatuapé, with hundreds of clients concentrated in the Eastern 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 records of the Federal Revenue Service of Brazil. It is not within the scope of our contract and it is not our responsibility for the commercial operations carried out by our clients,” he stated.

In the same statement, the director emphasized 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 during the previous administration, as our slate was not elected,” he added.

*Article updated on February 21, at 1:13 a.m.:

After publication, Central do Timão contacted director Pedro Soares to confirm information, received from a source, that he had served as an advisor in the legal department during Duilio Monteiro Alves’ administration, but received no response. However, the director confirmed the information to Gazeta Esportiva, contradicting what he had previously stated. The text was adjusted to reflect the new information.

“For a period of time, I collaborated with the department under the leadership of Herói (Vicente) only as an advisor, not as an assistant, nor as a council member, just for data tabulation. I emphasize that under my management, documents were delivered to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, including the aforementioned and prepared police report regarding missing documents, invasion, etc.,” the legal director stated late Friday night (20th).

Pedro Luis Soares took over as legal director of Corinthians 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 in the various fronts of investigation involving former club executives.

At the time, as a member of Cori, the director was among the nine councilors 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 circles 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, president of Corinthians 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 during the final period of the administration. Among the items under review is a report of presidential expenses indicating 176 purchases made between September 26 and October 31, 2023, totaling R$ 86,524.62. The transactions would include items of a personal nature. The former president did not acknowledge the authenticity of the document and filed a criminal complaint with the Police Department for the Repression of Sports Intolerance Crimes.

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 financial director of Corinthians.

Duilio Monteiro Alves was charged by the Public Prosecutor’s Office 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, 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.