Flamengo striker Bruno Henrique had his habeas corpus denied by the courts. The request, filed by the player’s defense, was rejected by Judge Demétrius Gomes Cavalcanti, of the 3rd Criminal Court of the Federal District. The athlete is being investigated for participating in a scheme to manipulate sports results.
According to the lawsuit, the player’s defense claimed that the State Court is incompetent to judge the case. In addition, the argument is that the facts have a “transnational nature”, involving international entities and betting platforms based in Malta, Curaçao and Cyprus. However, betting houses have been operating under regulation in Brazil since January 2025.
Based on this, the defense requested the annulment of the decision that authorized the search and seizure of the player’s cell phone. The justification for this was a violation of jurisdiction, and requested that the case be transferred to the Federal Court. The defense also requested the annulment of all evidence obtained by the ongoing investigation.
In addition to the open police investigation, the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) is also analyzing the situation, after receiving all the data obtained in the investigation.
Remember the Bruno Henrique case
The striker for the Rio de Janeiro club had his indictment request formalized on April 14, for alleged fraud in a sports competition. In addition to the player, nine other people are targeted by the Federal Police (PF).
Investigators found suspicious messages on the cell phone of Wander Nunes Pinto Júnior, the player’s brother, after the device was seized by agents. The investigation analyzed 3,989 conversations on Bruno Henrique’s WhatsApp.
According to the PF, the investigations began in August 2024, when betting operators presented suspicious movements regarding the card received by Bruno Henrique against Santos, in 2023.
According to information, three bookmakers (KTO, Betano and Bet da Galera) issued an atypical bet alert for newly created accounts minutes before the match.
On November 5, 2024, the PF served 12 search and seizure warrants in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Vespasiano, Lagoa Santa and Ribeirão das Neves.
On May 29, Bruno Henrique testified before the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD), after requesting that the hearing be rescheduled. He was indicted Henrique based on article 200 of the General Sports Law,
