The FC Porto audit discovered 16 trips paid by the club to the Madureira couple and their friends and family and admits that there are more “perks” to be discovered.
Between 2017 and 2024, FC Porto financed trips, luxury stays and other personal expenses for Fernando Madureira, leader of the Super Dragões, his wife Sandra Madureira, family and friends. In all, 16 international and national tripsincluding destinations such as Ibiza, Sardinia, Disneyland Paris, Mexico and Brazil, were paid for by the club, covering periods such as Christmas and summer holidays, in which there were no sporting events or club matches.
FC Porto, which acts as an assistant in Operation Praetorian, a process that investigates attacks at the club’s general assembly, tried to attach travel invoices to the case, arguing that the costs were not covered by the protocol with the Super Dragons. This agreement only provided for expenses related to travel to support the club in away games, while the trips analyzed included destinations and moments without any direct connection with FC Porto’s commitments, explains .
In response to the revelations, Villas-Boas ordered a forensic audit, initially focused on the last two years of the club’s management, but later expanded to a four-year period due to the “surprising results” found. This audit aims to clarify and document financial practices that may be at odds with the club’s interests.
In the request presented, the club expresses that these expenses went against the interests of the institution. “Repeatedly and against the interests of the FCP Group, the accused Fernando Madureira and Sandra Madureira, as well as their family members and other people close to them, benefited from payments made by the Group that had nothing to do with games or even the FC Porto universe”, he says.
Furthermore, FC Porto indicated that it could there are more unidentified invoices given the “concealment of situations” that led the club to find only 16 invoices to prove the “perks”. The club claims that it was unable to immediately identify the recipients of several invoices and had to use travel agencies to find out who used the paid services.
The club argued that the inclusion of these expenses would reinforce the position of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which argues that the accused sought to ensure privileges to the detriment of the club’s interests.
However, the responsible judge decided that the inclusion of invoices would not be relevant at this stage of the process, explaining that the instruction should not serve as an extension of the original investigation.
Operation Praetorian arose after riots during the general assembly of FC Porto in November 2023, in which several members were attacked or intimidated to vote in favor of changing the statutes proposed by the club’s management, which at the time was led by Pinto da Costa.
The case resulted in the indictment of 12 people, including Fernando Madureira, for attempts to influence club decisions in their favor, in a process that now involves the investigation into abuses of club privileges and funds for personal purposes and a ticket sales scheme. on the black market.
