CPI das Apostas will hear investigation and witnesses on suspected gaming fraud

The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on the Manipulation of Games and Sports Betting will hear next Wednesday (27), from 2:30 pm, the football player Bruno Lopes de Moura. He is one of those investigated in Operation Maximum Penalty, of the Public Ministry of Goiás (MP-GO), for forming an organization to commit crimes in sporting activities.

The request summoning the athlete was presented by the senators Romário (PL-RJ) and Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO)respectively rapporteur and president of the CPI. The parliamentarians mention excerpts from the accusation against the athlete, citing “several cases of active corruption with professional players, aiming to obtain profits from sports betting”.

“Bruno Lopez de Moura, identified as one of the leaders of the criminal organization specializing in the manipulation of sports betting, will have a lot to contribute to the objectives of this CPI, when asked about the gang’s mode of operation, its sources of financing and the schemes of enticement and payment of undue advantages to football players”, say the senators.

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Witnesses

Kajuru also presented two other requests to invite, on the same day, as witnesses, the presidents of the Nova Cidade teams, Luiz Jorge Eloy Pacheco; and Belford Roxo, Reginaldo Gomes, both from Rio de Janeiro. Guests will talk about the complaints presented during the VAR operation.

“The operation was motivated by a formal request from the Football Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Ferj), which identified and reported suspicious results in the competition. Among the episodes investigated is a match between the clubs Belford Roxo and Nova Cidade, held in June 2024, in which a betting pattern detected on Asian exchanges indicated manipulation of the result. During the first half, Nova Cidade led 3-1, but the final score was reversed to 5-3 in favor of Belford Roxo, confirming the suspicious betting pattern”, explained the senator from Goiás.

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The parliamentarian added that the arrest of Willian Rogatto, known as the “King of Relegation”, in Dubai, by Interpol, makes the facts even more serious. Rogatto, according to Kajuru, has already admitted to having manipulated the relegation of 42 teams in Brazilian football and profited more than R$300 million from fraud in sports betting, having a direct connection with the scheme being investigated.

The VAR operation was initiated by the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro on November 11, 2024. The police identified signs of criminal activity in the clubs Nova Cidade, Belford Roxo, São José, Brasileiro and Duquecaxiense.