Prosecutors Point Brazilian Olympic Committee President As Link in Vote-Buying Scheme in Rio-16

09/06/2017 - 10h47

President of the Brazilian Olympic Committee for more than 20 years, Carlos Arthur Nuzman was the target of Operation Unfair Play, which investigates the alleged buying of votes for the election of Rio de Janeiro as the venue for the 2016 Olympics.

On Tuesday (5) he was summoned to testify at the Federal Police in Rio de Janeiro.

The operation also targeted entrepreneur Arthur César de Menezes Soares Filho, known as "King Arthur", suspected of being responsible for paying US$ 2 million (R$ 6.6 million) to Senegalese Lamine Diack, a member of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) until 2013.

He lives in Miami and is on the run. His partner, Eliane Cavalcante, was arrested.

According to the investigations, the money used to buy the vote in the IOC was debited from an account used by the former governor of Rio Sérgio Cabral to receive Soares' bribes.

Cabral received a total of US$ 10.5 million (R$ 32.75 million) from the businessman, it is suspected.

Arthur Soares' account used to pay the bribe was opened at the EVG bank in Antigua and Barbuda by the black-market currency dealer Renato Chebar, who operated for Cabral.

Soares' companies had at least a total of R$ 3 billion (US$ 937 million) in contracts with the state government.

Nuzman had his passports (diplomatic and Russian) seized, along with R$ 480,000 (US$ 150,000) in cash in five different currencies at his home.

He is forbidden to leave the country, which makes it impossible to take part in the next session of the IOC, in Lima, on Wednesday (13).

The Prosecutor General's Office says there are indications that Nuzman was responsible for linking the corruption scheme in the State of Rio with members of the IOC.

Translated by MARINA DELLA VALLE

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	Ricardo Moraes/Reuters
	Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) President Carlos Arthur Nuzman (C) arrives to Federal Police headquarters in Rio de Janeiro