The Ministry of State and the Tax Office are suspicious of the commissions paid to businessmen Bruno Macedo, Ulysses Santos, Giuliano Bertolucci and Isidoro Jimenez. 55 transfers under investigation at Benfica under the leadership of the former leader
There are 55 transactions related to transfers made by Benfica under Luis Filipe Vieira, which the Ministry of State (MP) and the Tax Office (AT) are examining more closely in the context of the Cartão Vermelho process.
When he was arrested in July 2021, former President Benfica was suspected of three transactions, now the number has increased. Yesterday, both CNN Portugal and Sábado magazine released information about the investigation obtained in the AT report, which lends more scope to suspicions justifying the constitution of Vieira, his son Thiago, businessman Bruno Macedo and José António dos Santos, king of chickens, spoke in as defendants at large after payment of the relevant bonds.
Regarding exclusively football Benfica, and supported by several public reports, the names of sports agents Ulysses Santos, Giuliano Bertolucci and Isidoro Jimenez are now associated with the companies under study, with researchers supporting the thesis that between 2012 and 2012. By 2020, these purchases and sales generated commissions of € 10 million. It is about Vieira’s allegedly unlawful receipt using the aforementioned businessmen and accounts in the names of his children, Thiago and Sarah.
According to CNN Portugal, tax inspector Paulo Silva and attorney Rosario Teixeira understand that the four businessmen mentioned above are close to Vieira and have been involved in the business of several athletes over the past few years: the channel points to names such as Seferovic, Everton. , Morato and Lisandro Lopez, but Sabado adds Vitsel, Samaris, Pedrinho, Raul de Thomas, Talisca, Jonas and Veigl to the list of companies under investigation.
And the case with the German is shown as indicative. The exchange of the Dortmund midfielder for Benfica in January 2020 cost the Eagles € 20 million and will generate € 2.5 million in intermediary fees. Presumably, it was the former president of the incarnate who indicated the name of Ulysses Santos as an intermediary in the transaction, but, according to the deputy, after analyzing the documents and intercepting the interception, this agent did not participate in the operation. “I think we should be signing Ulysses here so that we don’t have anything to do with the other guy who represents or doesn’t represent … We are the ones who should be contracted by saying that he is our representative here.” transcribes “CNN Portugal” from Luis Filipe Vieira’s audition included in the process.
In another, published by Sábado, there is a conversation between Thiago Pinto and Miguel Moreira, then chief football officer and CFO of SAD incarnate, respectively, where both are worried about the possibility that Weigl will notice his contract and see him. mediation that did not exist.
Acquisition of real estate for almost four million
In the case of Pedrinho, which cost Corinthians € 18 million, the alleged receipt of commissions from both clubs by Bruno Macedo and Giuliano Bertolucci is being investigated. In the latter case, Sabado indicates that the agent will buy, three months after the striker was hired by the Eagles, a € 3,950 million Lisbon property from the White Walls of Vieira.
“The facts suggest a correlation between the player’s transfer and the real estate deal between the White Walls Society and Giuliano Bertolucci as a possible tool for sharing compensation with Luis Filipe Vieira,” Rosario Teixeira wrote according to the weekly magazine. The investigation sees more suspicion here of a possible return of money from commissions to the universe of Luis Filipe Vieira and where his family is also in the spotlight.
In another conversation between his son Thiago and the wife of the former leader of the eagles, Wanda, the former tells his mother that the aforementioned White Walls are going to make a transfer to Sarah’s account. [filha de Luís Filipe Vieira]”, an amount that” is still around 200,000 euros, which goes to Sarah’s account and then goes to make payments, “he is quoted as saying.
The GAME tried to get a reaction from those targeted by this news, but none of them were available until the episode closed.
Textor was not the first possible investor
The MP understands that Luis Filipe Vieira and Jose Antonio dos Santos were trying to sell 25 percent of the red SAD to North American John Textor, but this was not the first potential buyer. In conversations intercepted between the former president and Carlos Janela, another name, Chip Sloane, is mentioned as the alleged spokesman for these investors.
“Surreal” business with a loss of 2.4 million euros from NB
The wiretapping of Luis Filipe Vieira’s telephone conversations also affected conversations in the field of relations with banks, namely with Novo Banco (NB). “Surreal” is the word that tax inspector Paulo Silva uses in his analysis of the real estate negotiations and the assignment of a loan to the aforementioned banking institution carried out by Vieira, José Antonio dos Santos and Avelino Carvalho, with a final loss of € 2.4 million to the bank. “
SUSPICIOUS
Seferovich
He arrived at Benfica in the 2017/18 season following the end of his contract with Eintracht Frankfurt. A commission of 1 million euros will be paid.
Witsel
In the 2011/12 season he moved to Standard de Liege for 9 million euros, and the next season he left for Zenit for 40 million euros.
Weigl
In 2019/2020, it was worth € 20 million paid to Dortmund. € 2.5 million has been set aside in commissions that are believed to be part of Ulysses Santos’ commission through a suspicious intermediary.
Talisca
Purchased in Bahia for € 4.75 million in 2014/15, it was permanently shipped to Guangzhou Evergrande in October 2018 as part of a € 25 million global deal.
Peter
He was supposed to reach Luz for 20 million euros, but the negotiations were revised at 18 million euros. The investigation indicates that Bruno Macedo and Giuliano Bertolucci received orders from Benfica and Corinthians.
Raul de Thomas
In January 2020, Benfica officially sold the striker to Espanyol for € 20 million, equal to the amount they paid to Real Madrid last July.
Samaris
In 2014, the Eagles paid Olympiacos € 10 million. The midfielder has resigned this season and signed with Fortuna Sittard.
Jonas
SAD confirmed in its annual report that although it was acquired at zero cost in 2014/15, “€ 1.3 million for intermediary services” was paid.
morato
The Eagles officially announced that they paid Sao Paulo 7.5 million euros for 85% of the center’s pass, in an amount that included mediation.
Everton
In the 2020/21 season, Benfica paid Gremiu € 20 million for the Brazilian player.
Mourinho veta … jesus
A summary of the red card eavesdropping process sent by investigators to Judge Carlos Alexander contains an excerpt from a conversation between businessman Jorge Mendes and trainer José Mourinho with Jorge Jesus as the main topic and a Special One veto on his return to Benfica.
“Mourinho asks which coach Jorge Mendes will play for Benfica and Jorge says he is at war with (Luis Filipe) Vieira because he wants to go after Jorge Jesus. (…) Mourinho tells Jorge Mendes not to let Jorge Jesus go to Benfica, ”describes the aforementioned summary, in which the current Roma coach presents an alternative: Laurent Blanc. “Jorge tells Mourinho to give Luis Filipe Vieira a message about Laurent Blanc,” he wrote to Sábado in an interview to be held on July 1, 2020, two days after Bruno Lage was no longer coach of the eagles. In the same passage, Mourinho said that Silvino, the former guardian of the Eagles and his assistant, would be a good goalkeeping coach for the Reds. About two weeks later, Benfica announced an agreement with Jorge Jesus, which will be officially unveiled in August.
In this excerpt, Jorge Mendes revealed that he tried to accommodate Bruno Lage at Aston Villa and that he spoke to other Benfica variants such as Pocchetino, Unai Emery and Marcelo Gallardo.
200 thousand accounts and 22 real estate objects
The investigation into the Cartão Vermelho process involved a telephone conversation on January 11, 2019 between Luis Filipe Vieira and his daughter, in which Sara Vieira spoke to him about funding projects for NGOs with which she collaborates. “Jorge will already send the missing 200,000 euros … now when I go with him, I will tell him … Jorge Mendes has not sent him yet, I will talk to him,” said the then President of Benfica. This is how super-agent Cristiano Ronaldo is targeted. Neither he nor his company Gestifute reacted.
There is no doubt that for the public prosecutor’s office, Vieira’s daughter plays an important role in the investigation, because several million euros were spent on her (seven) bank accounts – only on the account of St. Galler Kantonalbank for the period from 2009 to 2010 – despite declaring an annual income of 37 thousand euros and owning … 22 real estate objects in its name.
