Benfica SAD, as well as Rui Costa, Domingos Soares Oliveira, Luís Filipe Vieira, José Eduardo Moniz and Nuno Gaioso Ribeiro, all directors, or former directors, of the Benfica association, became defendants this week, DN discovered. But they don’t know what exactly this trial is all about, which will most likely be a formality related to statutes of limitations, not least because no one was questioned.
At stake is likely a trial investigating crimes stemming from illegal emails sent to Benfica and involving other trials such as Vouchers and Mala Ciao. In particular, the aim seems to be to avoid any prescriptions, as many of these investigations have been running for several years, some of which started as far back as 2012.
As far as DN has learned, some managers went to the PJ in Lisbon this week, but were not questioned or informed of concrete facts. SAD was appointed as a defendant, but the targeted leaders were confronted with only generic information, in what appears to be an essentially formal measure, to comply with the timetable, i.e. a result of SAD’s appointment as a defendant for the purpose of cause are not prescribed.
The DN knows that Benfica SAD and its representatives do not know what exactly this process is about, as all requests for clarification they have made have been rejected by the Public Prosecution Service, which claimed judicial secrecy. This is a process that was examined in Lisbon and transferred to Porto by order of the superior. Something that eagles only recently became aware of.
Benfica’s SAD lawyers, Rui Patrício, João Medeiros and Paulo Saragoça da Matta, were notified of this trial just before Christmas, but the steps were postponed for a few days given the holiday season. moved to PM. Clube da Luz representatives, contacted by DN, declined to comment on this process.
Processes in a decisive phase
This decision, of the composition of the arguida benfiquista SAD, coincides with the return of the First League, after a long break due to the organization of the World Cup in Qatar, and at a time when Benfica leads the championship. And also with the final stage of the trial of the emails case – the prosecution charged the Porto communications director Francisco J. Marques, the Porto Canal director Júlio Magalhães and Diogo Faria, commentator, with violation of correspondence and unauthorized access , for disclosing the content of Benfica’s emails.
Also coming soon is the verdict of the E-toupeira case, in which Benfica SAD was, in a court order, cleared of any responsibility, involving former legal adviser Paulo Gonçalves and two court officials, who allegedly exchanged information about investigations. have provided for club tickets, invitations and merchandising.
Also in this month of January came the latest allegations from the Football Leaks trial, involving Rui Pinto – on Wednesday the Public Prosecution Service (MP) asked for the hacker to be sentenced to prison, for 89 of the 90 crimes he is accused of of being charged in the process, ranging from improper access to breach of correspondence, including unlawful access and computer sabotage. However, the closing arguments were suspended yesterday at the request of Aníbal Pinto’s lawyer.
Also coming soon is the decision of the investigative phase of the Saco Azul case, which started in 2017 and was successively postponed by the Public Prosecution Service (MP). The MP’s latest deadline points to a decision still this month of January, in a case in which Benfica SAD’s lawyers have already asked for the filing of the trial against Domingos Soares Oliveira and Luís Filipe Vieira, as SAD’s legal representatives, to be filed.
In the case of the Blue Sack, which allegedly serves to do favors to third parties, namely football referees, as DN reported last September, Benfica SAD lawyers argue that the PJ report gives “a good account” that “despite the meticulous, exhaustive and lengthy investigation of the facts has not found anything and nothing more has been imputed than (alleged) tax fraud”.
Source: DN
