Former Corinthians director gives statement to police in VaideBet case

Rubens Gomesknown as Rubãoformer football director of Corinthiansgave testimony this Thursday (8) to the Civil Police, as a witness in the investigation that investigates possible irregularities in the sponsorship contract between the club and the betting house VaideBet. The contract, which has generated controversy, is being closely examined by the authorities.

During his testimony, Rubão reaffirmed what he had already said publicly in previous interviews. He stated that he had heard from the president of Corinthians, Augusto Melothat there were no intermediaries in the negotiation with VaideBet. However, the contract included a commission of R$25.2 million destined to the company Rede Social Media Design, owned by Alex Cassundewhich was linked to Melo's electoral campaign.

After leaving the police station, Rubão made strong statements, suggesting that organized crime was infiltrating Corinthians, although he did not present concrete evidence to support the accusation. He also defended the impeachment of Augusto Melo, stating that he had already collected signatures to open the process of removing the president.

“My biggest concern is organized crime taking hold at Corinthians. The club is a family institution, and we need to be careful with that. The institution is above all, above any vanity. If the Board doesn't remove Augusto, the Justice Department will.”said Rubão.

Rubão also highlighted that, when questioned by the delegate about the existence of intermediaries in the negotiation with VaideBet, he reaffirmed that there were no intermediaries, as confirmed by Alex Cassundé. “The Corinthians institution is the victim, not its leaders. The trio VaideBet, Augusto, Sergio Moura and Marcelinho is more tangled than rope smoke. Justice will prevail”declared Timão's lifelong advisor.

The former director expressed confidence that Augusto Melo will not complete his term, which runs until the end of 2026. According to Rubão, if the impeachment process is not initiated, the president will be removed from office by the courts.

Next Monday, Corinthians' Deliberative Council will meet to discuss, among other matters, the contract with VaideBet. The situation is tense, with Rubão warning that the club is in crisis and that a new political group is needed to get it out of this situation. “We have to stop with the story of 'ah, we won't remove Augusto or Renovação and Transparência will return'. There are not just two sides. Corinthians has 300 advisors, a new political group is being formed to get Corinthians out of this crisis. Corinthians is bleeding, bleeding, bleeding, these people are only thinking about themselves”said Rubão.

Remember the Corinthians x VaideBet case

The investigation began in May of this year after a complaint from the “Blog do Juca Kfouri”, which raised suspicions that Rede Social Media Design had transferred R$900,000 to a shell company, Neoway Integrated Solutions in Services Ltda.registered in the name of Edna Oliveira dos Santoswho allegedly was unaware of the company's existence. The Police identified Neoway's links with other shell companies, and the Court has already ordered the lifting of Neoway's banking secrecy, awaiting the sending of statements by the banks.

Suspicions surrounding the case led VaideBet to break its contract with Corinthians on June 7, claiming damage to its image. The contract, signed in January, was valid until the end of 2026 and provided for the payment of R$370 million to the club.