By Adriano Wilkson, Eder Traskini, Igor Siqueira, Lucas Musetti Perazolli, Diego Garcia and Thiago Arantes
The Public Ministry of the Brazilian state of Goiás (MP-GO) denounced to Justice 16 people, including athletes and business people, for criminal organization formation and fraud to the Statute of the Fan, with suspected manipulation of Series A and B matches of the Brazilian Championship 2022 and state tournaments 2023.
On Tuesday (9), the court accepted the accusation, the result of the second phase of Operation Maximum Penalty.
WHAT HAPPENED
In the second half of last year, the MP-GO opened an investigation after founding evidence of manipulation in sports competitions.
A criminal organization specialized in corrupting professional soccer athletes was leading this scheme.
In the first phase of the operation, six members of the core of betting and operational support were identified who committed the crime of criminal organization (art. 2 of Law No. 12.850/13).
The goal would be to ensure the occurrence of certain events in the matches, bet on these events, and thus make money on gambling and betting sites.
The most frequent occurrence involves receiving yellow cards in matches.
According to the MP-GO, the bets were made on sites like Bet365 and Betano.
The action was conducted in the states of São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, and Goiás, among others.
The crime
The case also fits the offense provided in Article 41-D of the Statute of the Fan, which provides for 2 to 6 years in prison and a fine for “Giving or promising a financial or non-financial advantage to alter or distort the outcome of a sporting competition or event associated with it.”
The recruiters
According to the MP, the scheme was led by Bruno Lopez de Moura and had among the gang members Camila Silva da Motta, Ícaro Fernando Calixto dos Santos, Luis Felipe Rodrigues de Castro, Victor Yamasaki Fernandes, and Zildo Peixoto Neto, who were also part of the core of bettors.
The Financiers
Another group was formed by the project’s financiers, which had Thiago Chambó Andrade, Romário Hugo dos Santos, aka Romarinho, and William de Oliveira Souza McLaren.
The MP cites in the complaint that others may still be identified.
They assured the existence of the funds for the payment of the recruited athletes.
HOW DID THEY GET TO THE PLAYERS?
Besides the two groups already denounced by the MP-GO, a third is formed by intermediaries.
They will be identified in a second investigation, which remains confidential.
These intermediaries would indicate the contacts and facilitate the approximation between bettors and athletes.
The amounts promised to the players varied between R$50,000 and R$ 500,000 (US$10,000 and US$100,000).
In exchange, they guaranteed the occurrence of events during the matches, such as receiving yellow or red cards or even committing penalties against their teams.
The bettors multiplied the money in the sportsbooks if the players achieved the events.
During the criminal procedure, the gang used third-party accounts at the betting sites to increase their profits and hide who the actual beneficiaries were.
Eight games of the 2022 Series A and 1 of the 2022 Series B were identified, and four more from state games this year.
THREE ARE IN JAIL
After the complaint, Judge Alessandro Pereira Pacheco of the 2nd Court for the Suppression of Organized Crime granted the request of the MP and kept the three involved in custody: Bruno Lopez, Thiago Andrade, and Romarinho.
The trio is being held in São Paulo and will be transferred to a prison in Goiás.
In addition, four players investigated in the second phase of Operation Maximum Penalty 2 have admitted involvement in match manipulation in Brazilian soccer.
They agreed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Goiás (MP-GO) and are not among those indicted.
The four players were included in the case file as witnesses.
The prosecutors who filed the complaint cited Article 28 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to support the agreement proposal accepted by the four players.
The Justice needs to approve it.
The MP-GO did not offer a plea bargain to the other defendants because it understood that there were no legal requirements.
WHO MADE THE DEAL
- Moraes, Juventude’s left-back in 2022;
- Kevin Lomónaco, Red Bull Bragantino’s defender;
- Nikolas Farias, a defensive midfielder from Novo Hamburgo (Rio Grande do Sul);
- Jarro Pedroso, an Inter de Santa Maria forward, played for São Luiz in the Gauchão (Rio Grande do Sul’s regional championship).
WHAT THEY ADMITTED
Moraes
Juventude’s left-back admitted that he was promised payment of R$30,000 – of which R$5,000 were delivered – for receiving a yellow card in the Palmeiras vs. Juventude match of the 2022 Brasilian Championship.
Moraes took the card, and the intermediation, according to the process, was made by Victor Yamasaki.
Moraes still received the promise of R$50,000 – of which R$$20,000 were delivered – to receive a yellow card in Goiás x Juventude, Brasileirão 2022.
Kevin Lomónaco
The defender admitted that he was promised payment of R$70,000 – of which R$30,000 was paid – to get a yellow card at Red Bull Bragantino vs. América-MG of the 2022 Brazilian Championship.
Lomónaco would turn down an offer to commit a penalty in the Red Bull Bragantino x Portuguesa game, for Paulistão 2023, according to conversations obtained by the MP.
Nikolas Farias
The midfielder admitted that he was promised payment of R$80,000 – of which R$5,000 were paid – for him to commit a penalty in the game Esportivo x Novo Hamburgo of the 2023 Gauchão. The player committed the penalty.
Jarro Pedroso
The striker admitted promising to receive R$ 0,000- of which R$30,000 were paid – to commit a penalty in the game Caxias x São Luiz of the 2023 Gauchão.
The player did take the penalty.
SEE BELOW THE GAMES AND PLAYERS INVESTIGATED
Palmeiras x Juventude, September 10, 2022 – Moraes (Juventude) – the player was yellow carded
“The advantage consisted of the promise of payment of R$30,000, of which R$5,000 were effectively delivered even before the game took place so that Juventude’s player, Onitlasi Junior Moraes Rodrigues, was punished with a yellow card during the match.”
Juventude vs. Fortaleza, September 17, 2022 – Gabriel Tota and Paulo Miranda (Juventude) – Paulo Miranda was yellow carded
“The advantage consisted of the promise of payment of R$60,000, of which R$5,000 were effectively delivered even before the game was played, through payment into the account of Gabriel Tota, Juventude’s player, for subsequent transfer to the athlete Jonathan (Paulo Miranda), so that he, also a Juventude player, was punished with a yellow card in the match, which the player effectively provided.
Goiás x Juventude, November 5, 2022 – Moraes (Juventude) – player was yellow carded
“The advantage consisted of the promise of payment of R$50,000, of which R$20,000 were effectively delivered even before the match was held, so the Juventude player, Onitlasi Junior Moraes Rodrigues, was punished with a yellow card during the match.”
Goiás x Juventude, November 5, 2022 – Gabriel Tota and Paulo Miranda (Juventude) – Paulo Miranda was yellow carded
“The advantage consisted of the promise of payment of R$50,000.00, of which R$10,000 were effectively delivered even before the match was held, upon payment arranged by Romário Hugo dos Santos to Gabriel Tota’s account, for subsequent transfer to Jonathan (Paulo Miranda) so that he, also a Juventude player, would be punished with a yellow card in the match, which the player effectively arranged.”
Ceará x Cuiabá, October 16, 2022 – Igor Carius (Cuiabá) – player was yellow and red carded
“The advantage consisted of the promise of payment in a total amount not yet specified, but, certainly, R$ 5,000 were effectively delivered to Igor Aquino da Silva (Igor Carius) before the game even took place, so that Igor, Cuiabá’s player, was punished with a yellow card in the match, which the player effectively provided.”
Sport x Operário, October 28, 2022 – Fernando Neto (Operário) – the player did not get the red card
“The advantage consisted of the promise of payment of R$500,000, of which R$40,000 were effectively delivered to Fernando José da Cunha Neto even before the match was held, so that Fernando, a player of Operário, was punished with a red card.”
Red Bull Bragantino x América (MG), November 5, 2022 – Kevin Lomonaco (Red Bull Bragantino) – player was yellow carded
“Payment of R$70,000, of which R$30,000 were effectively delivered even before the match was held, so the Red Bull Bragantino athlete, Kevin Joel Lomónaco, was punished with a yellow card.”
Santos x Avaí, November 5, 2022 – Eduardo Bauermann (Santos) – the player did not get the yellow card
“Payment in an amount not yet specified, but it is certain that at least R$50,000 were effectively delivered to Eduardo Bauermann before the game even took place, so that Eduardo, Santos player, would be punished with a yellow card in the match (which did not occur).
Botafogo x Santos, November 10, 2022 – Eduardo Bauermann (Santos) – player was shown the red card
“Bauermann, despite having accepted values in the previous round, did not “fulfill” his part of the agreement by not being punished with a yellow card. Therefore, in the round immediately following and still in possession of the amount received, again accepted the promise of improper values to be expelled from the match.
Palmeiras x Cuiabá, November 6, 2022 – Igor Carius (Cuiabá) – the player did not receive a yellow card
“Payment of R$60,000 for Igor Aquino da Silva (Igor Carius), Cuiabá player, to be punished with a yellow card in the match.”
Guarani x Portuguesa, February 8, 2023 – Victor Ramos (Portuguesa) – the player did not commit the penalty
“Promised payment of R$100,000 for Victor Ramos Ferreira, a Portuguesa player, to commit a maximum penalty.”
Subsequently, because Bruno, Ícaro, and Zildo (three of the accused) apparently could not find other players to manipulate the result in the same round, the accused did not pay the athlete in advance. Subsequently, they made a bet in the match).
Red Bull Bragantino x Portuguesa, January 21 – Kevin Lomonaco (Red Bull Bragantino) – the player did not commit the penalty
The promise of payment of R$200,000 for the player Kevin Joel Lomónaco, Red Bull Bragantino, to commit a maximum penalty in the first half. The player did not accept the proposal”.
Bento Gonçalves x Novo Hamburgo, February 11, 2023 – Nikolas (Novo Hamburgo) – the player committed the penalty
The promise of payment of R$80,000, of which R$5,000 were effectively delivered even before the match was held, for the Novo Hamburgo athlete Nikolas Santos de Faria to commit a maximum penalty during the match”.
Caxias x São Luiz, February 12, 2023 – Jarro Pedroso (São Luiz) – player committed the penalty
“Payment of R$70,000, of which R$30,000 were effectively delivered even before the match was held, for the São Luiz athlete Emilton Pedroso Gonçalves Domingues (Jarro) to commit a maximum penalty in the first half of the match.”
With information from UOL
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