BInfica SAD, a company commissioned by the Lisbon club supporters to manage it, in addition to several of its former and current directors who have been accused by the Portuguese courts of tax evasion. A press release from the company in question revealed the information on Wednesday.
“Sport Lisboa e Benfica Futebol, SAD hereby informs that the company is accused of tax evasion,” the press release, picked up by the Portuguese media, explains. “Members of its board of directors” and others “still in office” were also charged with the same crime, as well as forging documents. »
According to Expresso, a Portuguese newspaper that revealed the information on Tuesday, the president of Benfica between 2003 and 2021, Luis Felipe Vieira, and the current director of Benfica’s club management company SAD, Domingo Soares de Oliveira, are among the main suspects. individually, along with SAD Benfica and SA Benfica Estadio.
The fraud would concern the development of fictitious contracts with the IT company, which would have made it possible to extract sums of up to 1.6 million euros from the club’s coffers. The Public Prosecutor’s Office “only confirms the existence of an investigation (…) relating to facts likely to constitute the crime of tax evasion.”
Luis Felipe Vieira had resigned as Benfica president in 2021. He had been arrested on July 7 on suspicion of breach of trust, fraud, tax evasion and money laundering, and left his position as club president and SAD on July 15. He was succeeded by former Portuguese international Rui Costa at the helm of Lisbon.
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