Legislation
Brazil – Corruption allegations denied by lawmaker
By James - 25 September 2023
According to weekly magazine Veja, the President of the Games and Lotteries Association, Wesley Cardia, was reportedly approached by Felipe Carreras, rapporteur of the Sports Betting CPI. Wesley Cardias CEO of The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) was called before the CPI in July.
According to the magazine, Cardia, was approached by the lawmaker who allegedly asked him for R$35 million, in exchange for “help and protection”. The accusations were denied by Representative Felipe Carreras who said that he that he “never” asked for a bribe claiming that it was a great injustice. The story was also refuted by the ANJL in a statement.
However deputies want to hear from José Francisco Manssur, special advisor to the Ministry of Finance, about the content of the report published by Veja magazine last week.
This is because according to the report, Cardia sought out José Francisco Manssur, special secretary of the Ministry of Finance, to make the accusation against Carreras and also to say that he had been approached by other deputies who were seeking to obtain financial advantages.
In a statement Carreras strongly denied the claims saying that even the magazine article admitted that there was no evidence behind the claims:
“Regarding the report published in Veja, in the edition of 22.09.2023, which accused him of serious accusations, federal deputy Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE), rapporteur for the CPI on Sports Betting, is publicly reporting that:
Revista Veja itself states that ‘no material evidence was presented against the deputy’.
In other words, the article conveys rumours, reported to a third party without proof or any factual basis, as the report states.
Furthermore, the alleged meeting in which the president of the National Association of Games and Lotteries would have denounced the bribe request was denied, by Cardia himself, in a note to Veja.
In any case, the deputy remains at the disposal of the authorities for any and all clarifications that may be necessary.”
