MP's demonstration becomes the basis for a new request for impeachment of Osmar Stabile at Corinthians

By Larissa Beppler and Henrique Vigliotti | Central do Timão newsroom

A new impeachment request against president Osmar Stabile was filed this Wednesday (17) with the club's Deliberative Council. The request was presented by Leandro Jorge Bittencourt Cano, judge and associate of Corinthians, and is based on a statement from the Public Ministry of São Paulo in the records of the criminal case involving vice-president Armando Mendonça.

The document, to which Central do Timão had access, requests the initiation of impeachment proceedings against Stabile on the grounds that the agent had adopted conduct incompatible with the institutional duties of the position when presenting, in favor of Armando Mendonça, an institutional declaration in the criminal proceedings.

The case originates from the process in which Mendonça was denounced by the Public Prosecutor's Office for the crimes of attempted embezzlement, qualified theft and coercion during the process, in an investigation related to the alleged disappearance of sports equipment supplied by Nike to Corinthians. After the presentation of the complaint, the manager's defense attached to the file a statement signed by Osmar Stabile stating that an internal audit did not conclude that there had been diversion or appropriation of sports materials and that the club had not positioned itself institutionally as a victim of a property crime.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

In response, prosecutor Cássio Roberto Conserino presented a strong statement to the Court. In addition to requesting the removal of the petition presented by the vice-president's defense, the member of the Public Ministry stated that the stance adopted by the president of Corinthians is not compatible with that of an entity potentially harmed by the facts investigated.

Among the excerpts highlighted in the impeachment request, Leandro Cano reproduces the prosecutor's assessment that the statement signed by Stabile revealed "unequivocal convergence of interests" with those being investigated and directly benefited the defendant's defensive strategy to the detriment of the club's institutional interests.

According to the associate, the seriousness of the situation arises precisely from the fact that the criticism came from the Public Ministry itself, the body responsible for criminal prosecution of the case. In the request, he argues that this is not an internal political divergence, but rather notes formalized in a judicial process by a public authority.

The document also states that the president's actions would have constituted a type of "institutional shielding", by using Corinthians' administrative structure to protect private interests to the detriment of the club's interests. Cano argues that Stabile ignored internal audit conclusions mentioned by the Public Prosecutor's Office and sought to rule out the club's status as a victim before the complete production of evidence and judicial assessment of the case.

"It should be remembered that the President of Corinthians is not the owner of the Club. He is a representative elected by the members and temporary administrator of a collective asset that belongs to thousands of members. By failing to act in defense of the institution and by acting in a convergent manner with the interests of the accused, the President violates the fiduciary duties that underlie the legitimacy of his mandate", says an excerpt from the request.

In the piece, the associate also cites excerpts from the ministerial statement that point to a possible characterization of reckless management. The argument is that the conduct attributed to Stabile could fit into the hypotheses provided for by Corinthians' statute for holding directors responsible, especially in situations involving decisions taken without due diligence or in disagreement with the club's interests.

According to the request, the stance adopted by the president would have compromised not only the club's financial interests, but also its institutional reputation, credibility among members, sponsors and public opinion.

The request also highlights that any political-administrative liability is independent of any criminal discussion. Cano states that he does not seek to anticipate a judgment of culpability in the criminal sphere, but that the permanence of a president formally criticized by the Public Prosecutor's Office for acting in line with the interests of a person accused produces sufficient damage to the institutional trust necessary for the exercise of the position.

Finally, the member requests the receipt of the representation, its forwarding to the Ethics and Discipline Committee for investigation of the case and the formal initiation of impeachment proceedings against Osmar Stabile. It also requests that the president be notified to present a defense and that the Public Prosecutor's statement filed on June 17th be incorporated into the case file as documentary evidence.

This is the third impeachment request filed against Osmar Stabile since the leader assumed the presidency of Corinthians after the dismissal of Augusto Melo, of whom he was vice-president. The first request was presented in April by an opposition group, which pointed out alleged statutory and legal infractions related to the agreement signed between the club and the Attorney General's Office of the National Treasury (PGFN) to settle a tax debt estimated at R$1.2 billion. The authors particularly questioned the use of Parque São Jorge as a guarantee for negotiations, arguing that the assets of the headquarters would have been offered without observing the procedures and authorizations set out in the club's internal rules.

At the beginning of June, advisors and associates presented a second impeachment request against Stabile. At the time, the signatories alleged a series of alleged statutory, administrative and legal irregularities involving the hiring of private security companies during the current administration. One of the requests has already passed the initial admissibility phase and is under analysis by the club's Ethics Committee, responsible for investigating the process.

Public Ministry criticized Osmar Stabile's performance in the case

In the demonstration filed last Tuesday (16), prosecutor Cassio Roberto Conserino harshly criticized the conduct of the Corinthians president after the annexation of an institutional statement in favor of Armando Mendonça's defense. For the Public Prosecutor's Office, the document does not reflect the expected stance of a representative of an entity that would have been harmed by the facts investigated, in addition to disregarding that the crimes highlighted in the complaint are public criminal action and independent of the will of the alleged victim.

The prosecutor also maintains that Stabile has a statutory duty to defend the club's interests and states that his statement prematurely ruled out the possibility of the existence of property damage before the conclusion of the legal process. According to Conserino, the position adopted by the agent revealed an apparent convergence of interests with the accused and ended up directly benefiting Armando Mendonça's defensive strategy.

In view of this understanding, the member of the MP requested that, if Corinthians were to act as an assistant to the prosecution in the process, the representation of the entity should not be the responsibility of Stabile, but rather the president of the Deliberative Council Romeu Tuma Júnior, and informed that he will forward a copy of the statement to the civil inquiry that investigates possible administrative irregularities at the club and assesses the need for judicial intervention in Timão.

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Source: Timao Central