Corinthians rocked as top names that were charged in sponsoring scandal

Corinthians President Augusto Melo and three others were officially charged as part of the Vaidebet sponsoring examination and signals a significant development in a current off-field saga that continues to envelop the club. The investigation of the São Paulo civil police, which was identified by the identification of Melo, two former club managers – Marcelo Mariano and Sérgio Moura – and mediator Alex Cassundé as a suspect in this case, by referring to allegations of qualified theft by abuse of, criminal unification and money washing.

Melo's legal team quickly reacted to the police report and described the indictment as “incredulously and outraged” and confirmed her attitude that Melo “has no participation in irregularities related to the case”. They emphasized that the president was “solely responsible for facilitating the largest master sponsoring agreement in South American football” that all relevant departments approved the contract and that this was the only participation of Melo in the process.

The lawyer of Sérgio Moura, José Roberto, also commented on the name of his client: “The defense is very quiet and Sérgio is very quiet. We have full confidence in the evidence collected during the examination during the examination.

The next phase of the process lies with the public prosecutor's office of São Paulo, in which the police knowledge of delegated Thiago Fernando Correia examines and decide whether the charges should formally submit. If the court accepted the case, Melo, Mariano, Moura and Cassundé would be accused and the matter would face court, including phases of testimony and the further judicial review. Any initial decision would not be final because appeals to overarching courts, including the Supreme Federal Court (StF) and the Supreme Court (StJ), could be made.

This latest step by the authorities comes to a delicate moment for the leadership of Corinthians. The club's advisory board will vote on Melo's elevation next Monday after earlier inquiries were associated with alleged irregularities in the Vaidebet sponsoring deal because of its distance. The upcoming session in Parque São Jorge will test the power relationship of the president for power, since the examination is intensified both within and outside of the club.

When the legal process leads and internal politics heats up, questions about the immediate and long -term effects on the management of Corinthians remain, whereby the stakeholders are observing all along the line according to the decision of the council and the answers of the accused persons during the development of their cases.