SL Benfica President Rui Costa.
“If you were going to read all the contracts I wouldn’t do anything else,” the Benfica president in court said on Wednesday. And he recalled the incarnate revolt: “Let us fear the fear that the referees could have beeping Benfica games.”
In court this Wednesday at the inaugural session of the trial of the case “Blue Saco”, which investigates alleged harmful management practices and fictional service of services within SL Benfica, Rui Costa admitted to sign contracts without reading them At the time he was an administrator of the club and confessed that many of the documents were not even discussed at the level of the direction.
“If you were going to read all the contracts that pass by Benfica, I would do nothing more at the club,” said the president of the incarnates, quoted by the.
“When the case was made public, we feel more revolt than concern, because we know that this is often reflected in the field. The revolt was great internallybut the focus became on the field, ”said Rui Costa, adding: “We fear the fear that the referees could have beeping games from Benfica”.
When the existence of an alleged ‘blue bag’ was known in Benfica, some media indicated that it could have been used to corrupt referees, something that is not in the accusation, such as Judge Vítor Teixeira and Costa made a point of stressing yesterday afternoon.
“The accusation does not make the relationship between money and its use,” said the president of the judges collective during the inquiry of the ‘incarnate’ leader.
Rui Costa, the first to testify, as representative of the club’s SAD, assured that nothing leads him to believe that the contracts in question “were not useful and important to the club, admitting that “Many of the contracts were signed without passing the Board of Directors”and that a summary of them was often made by Miguel Moreira, at the Managing Finance (CFO) date of the incarnated and also argued in the process.
“Most of these contracts passed Miguel Moreira, he had autonomy, Luís Filipe Vieira [presidente do clube à data dos factos] had no knowledge of computer technology (IT) ”said Rui Costa, who guaranteed “never being aware of the circulation of large amounts of cash” in the club.
Vieira: “You won’t prove anything”
António Cotrim/Lusa
Former SL Benfica President Luís Filipe Vieira, upon arrival for the trial of the “Blue Bag” process
Upon arrival in court, Luís Filipe Vieira refused to comment in detail the processmerely stating that “nothing will be proved.” It denies the existence of any “blue bag” or financial irregularity in the incarnate club. He insisted that he “had to go to lunch” because he was hungry.
Seeing Rui Costa is dismissed from the court to accompany the Benfiquista squad on a visit to Tirsen to the Portuguese Cup, the former president said: he “has to go to win.”
Question Flexible “Never met with Vieira”
In the afternoon session, for more than two hours, the statements of José Bernardes Of the questionable question during the instructional phase, and then, before the collective, the defendant answered several questions, but declined to talk about Benfica’s money transfers to the company.
Bernardes admitted that “regarding contracts, always spoke to Miguel Moreira”, And assured that he was never with Luís Filipe Vieira, who led the club between 2003 and 2021.
The defendant explained in detail the assignment of positions in two companies in relation to services rendered to Benfica, as well as the creation of the company File Lda, created by him and the woman and who had Benfica as the only client.
José Bernardes will continue to be heard in the next session, scheduled for May 8, in which the defendant Luís Filipe Vieira will also speak.
What is in question?
O Public Prosecution Service accuses several figures linked to the clubincluding former President Luís Filipe Vieira, former administrators Domingos Soares de Oliveira and Miguel Moreira, as well as Benfica Sad and Benfica Stadium societies.
In the process is at question a alleged Fictitious Payment Scheme to a computer company external to the Benfica group, the questionable question, in a value between 1.8 million euros and 2.2 million eurossupposedly by computer consulting services that, according to the prosecution, were never provided.
According to the prosecution, confirmed in June last year by an instructional judge, the former president of Benfica Luís Filipe Vieira is suspected of three qualified tax fraud crimes and 19 document forgerylike Domingos Soares de Oliveira, former administrator-who is abroad and will only be present in court in July-and former club director of the club Miguel Moreira.
The same crimes are also imputed in co -authorship with the flexible question: José Bernardes will also answer for the crime of laundering capital.
In a process in which they are also defendants Paulo Silva and José Raposo, Benfica SAD is accused of two qualified tax fraud crimes and Benfica Stadium of a tax fraud crime and 19 document forgery.
