Big Corruption Scandal Affects Brazilian Volleyball

We’ve gathered all these 3 MAJOR MAJOR ARTICLES about the shocking corruption scandal in Brazil which has sadly affected Brazilian volleyball. The controversy has prompted Brazilian volleyball superstar Murilo Endres to speak up.

From stabroeknews.com:

Brazil confederation accused of corruption – auditors

Directors of the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation (CBV) paid friends and family about 30 million reais ($11.32 million) for questionable contracts between 2010 and 2013, a government investigation reported yesterday.

Auditors from Brazil’s Comptroller General’s Office discovered that part of the performance bonus paid by the CBV’s main sponsors, Banco do Brasil, was not distributed to athletes as promised while administration costs rose sharply.

“It was in exactly that context that the CBV hired companies (owned by) directors, ex-directors and their relatives,” the report said.

Some of those increased administration costs went to two companies “that perhaps don’t even exist,” the Comptroller’s report said. “The owners are sons-in-law of the confederation’s ex-president Ary Graca.”

From thestate.com:

Volleyball confederation loses bank sponsorship

The state-run Banco do Brasil said Thursday it is cutting off sponsorship payments to Brazil’s volleyball confederation following a report by the country’s watchdog auditing office citing irregular payments by the sports body.

In a report released Thursday, the anti-corruption body known as the CGU — Comptroller General’s Office — said bank funds had gone in an “irregular” fashion to some companies or individuals connected with the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation, the CBV.

The bank said it “would not go along with illegal practices that hurt the sport or the volleyball community.”

In a statement, the CBV said it had received the report citing irregularities under former President Ary Graca. He resigned earlier this year, but remains president of the FIVB, the world governing body of the sport.

“Even before this report, the new management took steps aimed at implementing responsible governance and, above all, ethics,” the confederation said. It added it had made its accounts available to supervisory authorities and had set up a permanent internal audit.

Graca has said his resignation had nothing to do with on-going reports about mismanagement. He said he had planned to resign with increased duties at the Switzerland-based FIVB.

Volleyball is probably the favorite sport in Brazil after football. It gained much of its popularity under former CBV President Carlos Nuzman, an International Olympic Committee member who now serves as head of the organizing committee for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Nuzman has not been connected to any wrongdoing.

From nzherald.co.nz:

Brazil players feel ‘betrayed’ by former president

A top player on Brazil’s men’s national volleyball team said Friday that players feel “betrayed” by the former president of the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation, who is being investigated by a federal watchdog agency for alleged corruption.

Brazil’s Comptroller General’s office ” known as the CGU ” released a report Thursday citing financial “irregularities” and implicated former confederation president Ary Graca. Graca resigned earlier this year, but remains president of the FIVB, the Swiss-based world governing body of volleyball. He said his resignation was not connected to on-going reports of malfeasance.

“Most of the players have the same feeling of betrayal,” player Murilo Endres said in an interview with ESPN in Brazil. “We have dedicated our time, our sweat, our knees, our shoulders, our ankles to this person and, unfortunately, we were betrayed by him. Indignation and betrayal summarize our feelings. But we will go after this, so it does not go unpunished.”

Volleyball is popular in Brazil and the country will be among the medal-favorites in the sport at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Former confederation president Carlos Nuzman made the sport a powerhouse in Brazil and is now an International Olympic Committee member and head of the organizing committee for the Rio Games.

He is not implicated in any wrongdoing in the watchdog’s report.

It is not clear if Brazil’s court system will act on the findings of the anti-corruption body.

The CGU said the volleyball confederation misappropriated about $11 million in sponsorship income, channeling it to companies controlled by Graca’s friends and relatives. State-run Banco do Brasil said Thursday it was halting sponsorship payments to the confederation.

In a statement Thursday, the volleyball confederation, known as the CBV, said it was under new management and had put in place “responsible governance, and above all, ethics.” It said it had made its accounts available to supervisory authorities and had set up a permanent internal audit.

“What we want, what the volleyball community wants is morality in the sport,” coach Bernado Rezende said. “The people on the courts are suffering with this. I, myself, had health problems because of all of this that is happening. We are on the courts, playing, fighting, and we see things like this.”

Thoughts???

(image: FIVB)