The Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Procedure (DCIAP) archived the “voucher” case, in which Benfica Sade was among the accused, eight years after Bruno de Carvalho, Sporting’s president at the time, was found guilty of the case.
“The constitutional principle of legality, also stated in Article 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, states that there is no crime and no punishment without law. Given the principle of non-retroactive application of criminal law, it is necessary to conclude that no person can be charged with the crime of unjustly offering or receiving an advantage in sport, and therefore an accusation of such an offense cannot be inferred and the penalty determined. “Archiving the process,” said the DCIAP decision order, which Lusa had access to.
The “voucher” issue goes back to statements made by Bruno de Carvalho in October 2015, when he revealed, in a program on TVI, offers from Benfica to members of the arbitration teams, whose total value could reach 250,000 euros per season. .
“Therefore, it was not possible in this case to collect sufficient evidence related to the practice of passive and active corruption crimes, in addition to the lack of other useful evidentiary measures related to discovering the truth that would lead to another crime.” The result,” notes DCIAP.
Since the invitations did not mention the value of the gift sets, the movement states that “it was impossible for the judges, delegates and observers to know, from the beginning, the value of the meal, and therefore the advantage.”
“The evidence gathered does not allow us to claim, beyond reasonable doubt, that by granting such a benefit, the SLB [Benfica] “I informed her of the possibility of representing any referee, delegate or observer of the possibility of having to perform any act or omission, let alone alter or distort the sporting result,” the order further notes.
Furthermore, the motion reveals that “all participants, without exception, included the offers as a compliment and symbolic, but without the possibility of impacting their jobs.”
In addition to Benfica, the defendants in this case are Rui Costa and Luis Felipe Vieira, the current and former presidents, respectively, former administrators Domingos Soares de Oliveira and José Eduardo Muniz and former legal advisor Paulo Gonçalves.
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