Corinthians president Augusto Melo was indicted by the São Paulo Civil Police. In addition to him, Marcelinho Mariano, former administrative director, and Sérgio Moura, former marketing superintendent, and also Alex Cassundé, owner of Rede Social Media Design LTDA. All of them for the crimes of money laundering, criminal association and qualified theft, in the case that investigates irregularities in the contract between the sportsbook VaideBet and Corinthians. The result of the investigation, led by delegate Tiago Correia, was released this Thursday (22).
Police Chief Tiago Correia is expected to send the final report to the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) next week. From there, the MP may file a complaint and make Augusto Melo a defendant. The agency may then request additional investigations, such as new evidence, or even request that the complaint be filed. If the complaint is accepted, the judge will begin criminal proceedings.
VaideBet and Corinthians Case
Investigations by the Civil Police’s Citizen Protection Police Department (DPPC) detected irregularities in the payment of R$1.4 million by the black and white club to intermediary Alex Cassundé, owner of Rede Social Media Design LTDA.
The company made two transfers, in the amounts of R$580 thousand and R$462 thousand, to Neoway Soluções Integradas, a shell company in the name of Edna Oliveira dos Santos, a resident of the Jardim Caraminguava neighborhood, in Peruíbe, a poor region on the South Coast of São Paulo. The information, first hand, came from journalist Juca Kfouri.
The Civil Police also identified that Neoway transferred R$1 million to Wave Intermediações Tecnológicas, which then made three transactions worth R$874,150 to UJ Football Talent. The sports consultancy appears to be a company with the objective of laundering money from organized crime.
The company appears in the testimony of Antônio Vinicius Gritzbach, in the investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of São Paulo (MPSP) into the criminal organization PCC. Known as the “PCC whistleblower”, the businessman died in November 2024, at Guarulhos airport, with 29 gunshots. He had signed a collaboration agreement with the authorities after acting in a money laundering scheme linked to the faction.
Impeachment of President Augusto Melo
The Corinthians Deliberative Council meeting is scheduled for next Monday (26) to resume the vote on the removal of Augusto Melo. The meeting will take place at Parque São Jorge and the club’s Council will analyze the irregularities in the sponsorship between the club and the betting house.
It is worth remembering that VaideBet unilaterally terminated the contract with Corinthians in June last year. Signed in January, the agreement was valid until 2026 with the payment of R$370 million.
“Since the beginning of April, the brand has been monitoring and requesting clarification on the suspicions raised, having already held meetings, formal communications and extrajudicial notification. Given the explanations presented without any resolution, VaideBet regrettably finds itself forced to take such action”, says the note.
“The brand believes that the partnership cannot be maintained while there is any suspicion of conduct that is not in compliance with ethics and legal precepts. The mere doubt, in the brand’s ethical judgment, is sufficient to determine the termination. VaideBet exercised this right by raising clauses in the contract that protect the brand’s rights in this decision”, reads the statement published at the time by the company.
