Sao Paulo (EFE).- The president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Samir Xaud, was implicated this Wednesday in an operation by the Federal Police regarding alleged “electoral crimes” in the state of Roraima, in the north of the country.
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Agents searched ten addresses in the states of Roraima and Rio de Janeiro, including the CBF headquarters, as confirmed by the confederation itself in a note.
The CBF highlighted that the operation “has no relation” to its activities or Brazilian football and stressed that Xaud “is not the focus of the investigation”.
The investigation began in September 2024, on the eve of that year’s municipal elections, when they seized 500,000 reais (about $90,000 / 80,000 euros) that would supposedly be used to buy votes, according to a statement from the Federal Police.
Within the framework of this Wednesday’s operation, dubbed ‘Black Box’, the Brazilian Justice ordered the seizure of «more than 10 million reais» (1.8 million dollars) in the accounts of those investigated, although the authorities did not specify whether Xaud suffered any type of financial blockage.
Agents searched the CBF headquarters between 06:24 and 06:52 local time this Wednesday, as part of an investigation initiated by the Electoral Justice of Roraima, the state where Xaud was born.
File photograph of the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Samir Xaud, speaking to the media in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). EFE / Andre Coelho
Operation at CBF headquarters without seizures
According to the CBF, which is waiting to receive “official information about the object of the investigation”, the police did not take any “equipment or material” from the headquarters of the entity responsible for Brazilian football.
“President Samir Xaud remains calm and available to the authorities for any clarification that may be necessary,” stated the CBF.
Xaud was elected president of the CBF on May 25th for a four-year term.
Son of Zeca Xaud, president of the Roraima Football Federation, he is a doctor by profession, businessman and sports leader.
His predecessor in office, Ednaldo Rodrigues, was suspended by the Justice Department for alleged irregularities in the election process.
In recent years, several CBF presidents have been involved in accusations of corruption and fraud, such as Ricardo Teixeira, José Maria Marin, and Marco Polo del Nero.
