The ‘Fantástico’ report shows how punters articulate round deals with enticed players. Bruno Lopez, head of the group, details in the testimonies how much he spent to seduce the athletes
Operation Maximum Penalty has brought new developments around the Goiás Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP-GO) investigation into a match-fixing scheme in Brazilian football aimed at betting profits. In a service broadcast by the program “Fantástico”, from “Rede Globo”, on the night of this Sunday (14), exclusive videos obtained during the operation were broadcast.
Among the videos found is a moment in which one of the bettors celebrates a combo play.
– Moraes, you’re crazy!
Lateral Moraes, who played for Juventude in 2022, was one of those who agreed to be part of the manipulation scheme. Subsequently, he made a deal with the MP-GO and admitted that he was involved in the 2022 Brasileirão Serie A and B game scheme and in the State this year.
According to prosecutors, the group of bettors under investigation was led by Bruno Lopez, who presented himself as a player coach. Suspicions are divided between gamblers, who tricked athletes into forging offers during matches and placing bets on websites, and financiers. They had a mission to provide money and pay the enticed players.
– What we have noticed is that bettors have joined with enticed gamblers to try and manipulate bets to ensure high profit, high volume. A financial gain that escapes the inherent luck of the game. The rigged games were commissioned events and attempts are made to profit from them – said the promoter Fernando Cesconetto, of the Goiás deputy.
The scheme was designed to extend across several competitions.
– I am in contact with the Campeonato Mineiro, I am in contact with the Campeonato Paranaense, I am in contact with the Campeonato Paulista – says Thiago Chambó, one of the organizers of the program, in the material collected by the deputy- GO.
In a statement released by the report, Bruno Lopez said he would spend BRL 400,000 on betting and attracting players in the final three rounds of the Brazilian Serie B. However, the initiator of MP-GO has claimed that the scheme leads to higher values.
– We have elements here that, in just one round, the profit bettors had was R$ 700 thousand – said Cesconetto.
In the statement, fullback Moraes also detailed how punter Vitor Yamazaki was contacted.
– Brother, do you want to do this? I have good money, we will pay R $ 30,000, send you R $ 5,000 before the match and then send the rest, if it works out,” she said.
According to the testimony of Bruno Lopez, head of the regime, the values changed according to the division.
– It’s very relative. I told you, it really depends. It’s a bet you make. Married to a great team, then you put in R$500, R$1000. Now, if there is a small team there, the house allows you to put R$ 200, R$ 300…
The MP-GO promoter said there was frustration in the third bottom round of Série A when profit was expected to be high.
– Multiple bets were placed in the third last round of Serie A in the Brazilian championship. And one of the groups was supposed to receive a profit of R $ 2 million for these bets,” he revealed.
Audio directed at Santos defender Eduardo Bauermann has also been released. He allegedly received R $ 50,000 in advance to get a yellow card in a match, which he ultimately did not receive. According to the investigations, the defender had to be sent off against Botafogo to negotiate with the bettors. He also received the red card, but after the final whistle, which according to the betting site rules is not counted.
– Brother, you will pay me everything. I asked you. I trusted you, brother. And you dishonored me again, brother – says one of the group members to the athlete Peixe.
In the video obtained by MP-GO, an unidentified participant appears and sends a threatening message to Bauermann. The footage shows the man taking a gun and directing the bullets at Bauermann and his family.
– Tell him here, wire. This is for you. This is for your sister. Yes, “f**k”. Here with “we” is just like that. Come! – underlined.
So far there have been 13 matches reported by the deputy to Justice: eight in Serie A, one in Serie B, two matches in the Campeonato Paulista and two in the Campeonato Gaúcho. The Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, authorized the federal police to open an investigation and help in the investigation. At present, the federal government is preparing an interim measure to regulate sports betting.
Betting sites are considered victims by the prosecutor. Players were removed from defending clubs. Currently, four have made an agreement and collaborate with the MP-GO to become witnesses in the trial: Kevin Lomónaco (who played for RB Bragantino), Moraes (returned who belongs to Atlético-GO and now plays for Aparecidense-GO), Jarro Pedroso (Inter-SM striker) and Nikolas Farias (Novo Hamburgo midfielder).
The first two received money for receiving a yellow card, and the other two were supposed to commit a penalty in one match.
Nikolas Farias initially said he had received offers but would not do it.
– In fact, he contacted me himself. And he asked me to take the penalty. Only he insisted and I said I wouldn’t do it-he said.
However, in an image obtained by “Fantástico”, the prosecution reports the penalty committed by the midfielder in the match between Noia and Bento Gonçalves and a message from Nikolas to a bettor.
– This is a man’s talk. If I said I will, I will. That’s all. I knew I was going to enter the game, so there were no mistakes,” she said.
Nikolas then declared.
– Every time I denied it, he said “so do this, do that”. Until I accepted the fine.
Quoted in the report, Thiago Chambó spoke to “Fantástico” through his defense. The defendant argues that “the information presented in the complaint does not have the strength to incriminate his client because there are no indications of any illegitimacy”.
The lawyers of Romário Hugo dos Santos, named as another member of the regime, complained that “he is subjected to public scrutiny before he can present his defense in court”. Bruno Lopez’s defense said in a note to “G1” that “the allegations will receive a response in due course.”
Eduardo Bauermann’s representatives deny the defender’s participation in any irregularity. According to them, everything will be proved in the process.
UNDERSTAND THE CASE
The investigation into alleged match-fixing began in November last year. Vila Nova’s agent, Jorge Hugo Bravo, discovered that the club’s players had been deceived by a group of gamblers before the match against Sport in Série B. The coach collected evidence of the attempted manipulation and searched for prosecutors fighting organized crime in the state.
Military police officer Jorge Hugo Bravo discovered that athlete Marcos Vinícius Alves Barreira, nicknamed Romário, had been deceived. As the player was not selected, he tried to induce a team-mate to get a red card or to commit a penalty for him. The total amount, according to Romário’s statement, was R $ 150,000, with a “down payment” of R $ 10,000, according to the video of his statement posted on “Fantástico”.
MP-GO will continue to investigate matches and does not rule out that there has been manipulation of results in other football matches. The Maximum Penalty operation is in its second phase.
Source: Terra
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