Members of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into Match-Fixing and Sports Betting tried in every way to get answers from the former president of the National Association of Games and Lotteries, Wesley Cardia, about an alleged bribery request from federal congressman Felipe Carreras.
Last year, Veja magazine published an article in which Cardia revealed that the congressman had asked for R$35 million (US$ 6.15m) to approve the sports betting bill in the Chamber of Deputies and to not call for bets during the CPI in that House.
In the various questions asked during the hearing on Tuesday (6), especially from Senator Eduardo Girão, Wesley Cardia used the right he had obtained in habeas corpus and refused to answer. Using various tricks to try to get an answer, the senator went around several questions, but was unable to get Wesley Cardia to comment on the alleged request for a bribe.
In the CPI, Cardia began his testimony by presenting everything that was done by the National Association of Games and Lotteries to provide information about the sports betting sector both in Parliament and in the Ministry of Finance.
“Whenever we were called, we presented relevant data about the activity and during this process we always had an active and republican participation to show the benefits of the sector for the country,” he declared.
Cardia gave a presentation on all the stages of the process that led to the regulation of sports betting and gaming in Brazil and made it clear that during this period, ANJL met with technicians from the Ministry of Finance to provide information about the sector.
At the end of the hearing, Senator Eduardo Girão presented requests for Wesley Cardia to be investigated by the CPI and for his tax, banking and telephone secrecy to be lifted. The requests will still be voted on by the committee.
Source: GMB
