Minister Gilmar Mendes, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), suspended this Monday (4) the criminal action against Carlos Arthur Nuzman, former president of the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee), which dealt with the alleged payment of bribes to members of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) for choosing Rio de Janeiro as the host of the 2016 Olympic Games.
The decision extended to the director the effects of the magistrate’s determination in favor of Leonardo Gryner, former COB marketing director, also accused in the case. The closure ends the accusation against Nuzman, who led the national Olympic sport for 22 years.
Mendes understood that the equation of sports directors with civil servants is not sustainable. This interpretation was one of the bases for the accusation to be maintained.
“The generic invocation of institutional relevance, receipt of public funds or subjection to external control is not sufficient, in itself, to convert a private agent into a public servant for criminal purposes, a conclusion that remains intact in light of the constitutional and legal requirements that govern criminal law”, wrote the minister.
Nuzman’s defense argument was that the accusation reflected a case of private corruption, a crime not classified in the country. The Federal Public Ministry, in turn, argued that, with the choice of the city, the Games organizing committee, chaired by Nuzman, obtained public funds through sponsorships from state-owned companies and benefited members of Cabral’s alleged gang in contracts for the Rio-2016 organizing committee.
Mendes stated that “equalization requires, in unequivocal terms, that the entity constitutes a ‘contracted or contracted service provider company to carry out activities typical of public administration’, a requirement that does not fit the legal nature of the Brazilian Olympic Committee.”
Nuzman was accused of intermediating the payment of US$2 million (R$3.56 million in exchange rates at the time, R$8.78 million in corrected values) to Senegalese Lamine Diack, a member of the IOC and president of the International Athletics Federation, to buy votes in the October 2009 choice that defined Rio de Janeiro as the host of the Games.
In addition to the leader, Gryner, former governor of Rio de Janeiro Sérgio Cabral and businessman Arthur Soares were accused. According to the MPF, the money used for the payment was part of the bribe paid by Soares to Cabral for corruption schemes during his administration (2007-2014) in the Rio de Janeiro government.
Nuzman has always denied the accusation. He stated that he was not aware of any payment and that the choice of Rio de Janeiro was the result of the efforts made by the candidacy committee.
Cabral also initially denied the accusation. In 2018, he even classified the Prosecutor’s accusation as “racial prejudice”.
However, the former governor changed his defense strategy in 2019, decided to confess and, in new testimony, confirmed the payment of bribes. He stated that the money transferred would buy up to nine votes, citing former foreign athletes.
He also said that President Lula (PT) and the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes (PSD), both in office at the time, knew about the payment, but had no participation in the negotiation or operation of the payment. They deny it.
After obtaining his freedom in 2021, the former governor again denied paying bribes.
Four cities were candidates in the 2009 election — in addition to Rio, Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago competed. The winner was defined by elimination. In each round, the IOC removed the least chosen city from the competition, starting a new vote.
In the first round of voting, the Brazilian city had 26 votes, while the North American city was eliminated with 18. In the end, Rio de Janeiro had 66 votes against Madrid’s 32, the biggest vote difference in the IOC’s history.
Nuzman was detained preventively for 15 days, but was released by habeas corpus from the STJ (Superior Court of Justice). The investigation led to the resignation of the COB president after 22 years in charge of the entity.
He was also sentenced to almost 31 years in prison, and Cabral, to 10 years and 8 months by judge Marcelo Bretas. The TRF-2 (Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region) annulled the sentence in March 2024, assessing that the magistrate did not have the competence to analyze that case.
The criminal action went back to square one and was sent to the STJ after the STF (Supreme Federal Court) changed its understanding on the application of the special forum. The accusation against Cabral and Soares remains valid.
Since his arrest, Nuzman remains a suspended honorary member of the IOC. The entity awaits the conclusion of the case.
