The STJ (Superior Court of Justice) will judge on Tuesday (6) an appeal of the defense of the defunct Banif against the decision of the TJ-SP (Court of Justice of São Paulo) that determined the Portuguese as the person responsible for the payment of a debt contracted with the banking institution by Manuel da Lupa, who was president of the club.
Clerk of the Lusitanian team from 2005 to 2013 – Period marked by the 2011 Series B title and the controversial relegation in the 2013 Brazilian, caused by the irregular lineup of midfielder Herverton – from Lupa died in February 2024 at the age of 74.
Following the death of the top hat, the heirs of his estate were included in the process, which originates in a loan made by the leader in 2010, in the amount of $ 17 million. The operation had as its guarantors the wife of Da Lupa, Maria de Fátima Fernandes Ferreira, and the then vice president of the club, Antonio Luiz Fernandes de Azevedo.
The loan won in 2012. As there was no payment, the bank went to court to receive the amounts, which, according to the defense of the banking institution, can reach $ 200 million currently after considering the charges over 15 years.
Also according to the representatives of Banif, in the course of the judicial process, the magnifying glass would have donated all his assets to his children a few months before the debt expires.
“After it became clear that no one could pay this loan, he donated all his properties to his children. It is a fraud against very clear creditors,” he told Sheet Ricardo Zamariola Junior, lawyer who represents Banif.
The defender also said that the transfer of the loan amount to the Portuguese would not exempt the magnifying glass of being the target of the collection. “Who took the money was him [dirigente]the one who had conditions of credit was him and who had equity to pay the debt was him, “he argued.
In his defense, Manuel da Lupa claimed that he could not be held responsible for the debt, as he would have made the loan for the benefit of the Portuguese.
“There was no benefit brought to Manuel or his family, under any circumstances. This was a debt that was contracted by the club itself, and these amounts were deposited in a current account of the club itself,” said Edgard Ermelino Leite Junior, representative of the leader and his family.
In 2016, in an interview with Lupa’s GE.com website said it was used as a “orange” in the operation. “I was orange, iron forehead. I had no benefit of the money,” he said. “I will fight in court for Portuguese to pay,” he added.
In the case file, the Portuguese states that the operations were signed by Manuel da Lupa and the bank on behalf of the leader, not as president of the club. The association, however, does not deny that it received funds passed by the top hat while he exercised his mandate.
Sought by the report, the club said it will only speak in the process.
After a decision of a favorable first instance to the bank, holding the leader, the TJ-SP decided that only the Portuguese could be considered debtor, exonerating the responsibility of Manuel da Lupa. Banif then resorted to the STJ.
