Brazil’s Federal Public Ministry is calling for the resignation of aquatics federation president Coaracy Nunes over alleged financial fraud, ESPN Brazil is reporting.
The ESPN story, which you can read here in its original Portuguese, says that seven months ago, investigators from the Federal Police and Federal Public Ministry discovered “strong evidence” of overbilling, misappropriation of public funds and embezzlement within the Brazilian federation governing aquatics, known as the CBDA.
Globo.com reports that the Federal Public Ministry has filed a lawsuit calling for the immediate removal of Nunes. The suit claims that funds that would have been used to purchase equipment for the Brazilian Olympic team were misused by CBDA as well as five other companies.
The CBDA (or the Brazilian Confederation of Water Sports) governs swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming within the nation.
Nunes has already denied the allegations, saying the fraud complaints are the work of political opponents, per Brazil’s Globo.com.
Nunes has been the president of the CBDA since 1988, but is up for reelection next year. He promised to file a criminal complaint against those who he says are giving false statements. A rough translation of his response (per Globo.com) is below:
“It’s part of a campaign against the CBDA election… I’m filing a criminal complaint against the Sao Paolo federation, if it is proven, and against all who are giving baseless statements. That’s just a lie. I deny all charges. The CBDA is an absolutely honest and correct company. I’ve been presiding over the CBDA for 26 years. I’ve never done anything against the accounts of the CBDA.”
Crooked Brasileiros funneling money into their own pockets? What. A. Shocker!