“Faced with the events of the last few days (…) I am suspending with immediate effect my functions as president of Benfica”, he indicated in a message read by his lawyer, Manuel Magalhaes e Silva.
Mr. Vieira, 72, was arrested on Wednesday and taken into police custody to be heard by an investigating judge at the Lisbon court.
During the operation dubbed “Red Card”, the authorities had carried out some forty searches in the regions of Lisbon and Braga (north), as part of an investigation into suspicion of breach of trust, aggravated fraud , forgery, tax evasion and money laundering, then informed the public prosecutor.
In question, “business and financing operations of a total amount greater than 100 million euros which may have caused high losses for the State and several companies,” said the prosecution.
In addition to the president of Benfica, the investigation led to the arrest of three other suspects: the eldest son of Mr. Vieira, a businessman who is also the largest individual shareholder of the sporting public limited company of Benfica, and a lawyer who acted as an intermediary in the transfer of players.
According to several local media citing elements of the file, Luis Filipe Vieira would have harmed the club, the Portuguese state and the bank Novo Banco, from which he had made significant loans.
“He is convinced of his innocence,” said his lawyer.
Luis Filipe Vieira has led Benfica since 2003 and his presidency has been punctuated in recent years by several court cases, targeting him directly or implicating him indirectly, around money laundering, tax evasion, corruption and influence peddling.
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