Missing R$7m could sink accounts and end in Casares expulsion | OneFootball

Julio Casares’s administration, who resigned in January amid several corruption scandals, may be at the center of yet another story that is, to say the least, poorly explained.

Among the most sensitive issues discussed by São Paulo’s board members on Wednesday (25), during the opening of the vote on the 2025 financial statements—the last under the command of the investigated former president—the lack of explanations for cash withdrawals stood out.

The presentation by executive finance director Sérgio Pimenta indicated withdrawals totaling approximately R$ 11 million, linked to the former presidency. Of that total, only R$ 4 million has detailed justifications, related to expenses such as refereeing and bonuses.

The remaining nearly R$ 7 million appears under the generic label of “presidency promotional fund,” with no documentation allowing the destination or purpose to be identified.

The inconsistency had already been highlighted by RSM’s independent audit, which included a qualification right at the beginning of its opinion. “We were unable to obtain appropriate and sufficient audit evidence to support part of these withdrawals,” the report stated, mentioning the lack of documents validating the actual destination of the funds.

The passage became one of the main points of internal questioning, as it indicates a structural control failure. During the meeting, Pimenta said he could not specify where the amounts had been directed.

The lack of an official transcript of the session limits the immediate documentary verification of the statements, which can only be checked once the minutes are released.

Contacted for comment, Casares asked for time to review the content discussed. The club did not comment officially, nor did Pimenta himself.

The withdrawals are also the subject of a police investigation, which is also looking into cash deposits of around R$ 1.5 million into Casares’s account. For now, there is no known link between the amounts withdrawn from the club’s accounts and those deposits.

Internally, the fallout was immediate. In a document sent to the presidents of the Deliberative Council and the Fiscal Council, fiscal council member Paulo Faria recommended rejecting the accounts. In his view, the audit qualification is “compelling and leaves no room to support approval of the 2025 accounts,” highlighting the impossibility of proving the destination of the withdrawn funds.

His individual position contrasts with the collective opinion of the Fiscal Council, which did not formally indicate approval or rejection.

Political pressure also began to reorganize. Groups such as Legião Tricolor and Participação submitted statements on the broader situation. The former argued that, if the financial statements are approved, formal qualifications should be recorded in the minutes, while the latter suggested “a profound institutional reconstruction.” Both, however, had been part of Casares’s support base until just a few days before his removal, and the former president himself was a member of Participação.

Be that as it may, the new allegation hanging over the former administration has already had an effect. As AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR has learned, a group of board members is mobilizing to gather signatures and submit to the Ethics Committee a request to review a vote on Casares’s expulsion from the club.

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