President Arrested For Tax Fraud Case, Benfica Shares Drop 5.52 Percent

Luis Filipe Vieira (Instagram @LuisFilipeVieira49)

JAKARTA - Portuguese league club Benfica on Wednesday night announced their president Luis Filipe Vieira was arrested by the authorities over an investigation into cases of tax evasion and money laundering.

Earlier, the local prosecutor's office had released a statement on the arrest of a sports executive, without naming Vieira, and three other people in an investigation into a deal involving more than 100 million euros (approximately Rp. 1.7 trillion) that caused losses to the state and several companies.

Benfica said Vieira was arrested for questioning, adding that although the investigation did not involve the club directly, they were cooperating with the authorities.

The prosecutor's office suspects the case, which includes fraud, money laundering and counterfeiting, has been going on since 2014 and said those arrested would be tried before a judge on Thursday.

Public broadcaster RTP and other local Portuguese media said Vieira's business partner, Jose Antonio dos Santos, was also detained.

Antonio dos Santos is the largest individual shareholder in Benfica SAD, a professional football team management company listed on the Portuguese stock exchange.

RPT reported that Benfica's management would immediately schedule an emergency meeting following Vieira's arrest, but declined to give an immediate statement.

Earlier, more than 100 investigators in Lisbon and elsewhere raided homes, a lawyer's office, corporate headquarters and a bank.

The daily Sol reported the investigation relates to a loan granted by Portuguese bank Noco Banco to the Vieira business group as well as the sale of shares in Benfica SAD.

A parliamentary inquiry into Novo Banco found that the Vieira-owned business group owed the bank about 400 million euros (approximately IDR 6.8 trillion). The Portuguese Resolution Fund owns a 25 percent stake in Novo Banco.

Reported by Antara from Reuters, news of Vieira's arrest caused Benfica SAD's shares to decline by 5.52 percent.