João Vale e Azevedo | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1957-05-17)17 May 1957 (age 67) Lisbon, Portugal |
| Occupation(s) | Formerlawyer and former president ofS.L. Benfica |
| Criminal status | On parole (after serving 3 years and 7 months) |
| Spouse | Filipa Vale e Azevedo[3] |
| Criminal charge | Embezzlement, document forgery, breach of trust,money laundering[1][2] |
| Penalty | 11.5 years |
João António de Araújo Vale e Azevedo (born 17 May 1957) is a Portuguese formerlawyer who was the31st president of sports clubS.L. Benfica.
In relation to his three-year club presidency, he was convicted ofembezzlement, document forgery, breach of trust, andmoney laundering.
On 31 October 1997, Vale e Azevedo was elected the 31st president of Portuguese sports clubS.L. Benfica, succeedingManuel Damásio. Vale e Azevedo won the club elections with 51.5% of 19,824 votes, defeating Luís Tadeu and Abílio Rodrigues.[4] Soon after, he signedGraeme Souness as coach of thefootball team. A year and a half later, Souness left the club and stated: "Vale e Azevedo lies when he looks in the eyes. Be careful, this man is dangerous".[5][6]
On 6 November, Vale e Azevedo declared three contracts between Benfica and Olivedesportos (Controlinveste) void and announced that he would take the case to court. The contracts, which were related to static advertising and broadcasting rights of Benfica football matches, had been signed on 28 March 1996 by his predecessor, Damásio. Eight days later, Vale e Azevedo signed an agreement protocol withSIC for the broadcasting of the club's matches at theEstádio da Luz for the1997–98 season. On 8 February 1999, Benfica signed a new contract with SIC for the broadcasting rights of all home matches in thePortuguese league from the1999–2000 to the2003–04 seasons. On 2 November 2000, the contracts with Olivedesportos were declared void in court.[7]
During Vale e Azevedo's three-year presidency, which ended on 27 October 2000,[8] Benfica accumulated huge debts and occasionally was not able to pay taxes or player salaries.[9] Moreover, the football team did not win any silverware. Some of his highlights were the creation of BenficaSAD, the idealization ofBenfica Futebol Campus, the signing of coachJosé Mourinho,[10] thecycling team'sVolta a Portugal victory in 1999,[11][12] the informatisation of the club, and the start of the war against Olivedesportos.[10] Vale e Azevedo was succeeded byManuel Vilarinho following his defeat at the club's most attended elections at the time.[10] In Benfica's General Assembly of 13 May 2005, Vale e Azevedo was expelled as member of the club.[13]
On 16 February 2001, Vale e Azevedo was arrested at home inAlmoçageme,Sintra. Months later, on 7 August, he was sent to jail. Prosecutors were concerned that he would leave the country or tamper with evidence. They investigated allegations that he had kept at least $1 million (£680,000) from the football transfer ofSergei Ovchinnikov toAlverca FC and that he had laundered cash throughoffshore banks in theBritish Virgin Islands.[4] They investigated 14 counts ofembezzlement. At the time, it was reported that Vale e Azevedo's yacht, "Lucky Me", was paid with part of that money.[4][9]
On 17 April 2002, Vale e Azevedo was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in theOvchinnikov case and was detained inLisbon. On 8 July 2004, he was released on €250,000 bail in theEuroárea case. On 30 March 2007, he was sentenced to five years in prison in theRibafria case. On 11 July, he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in theDantas da Cunha case. On 5 May 2008, theNational Republican Guard went to his house to detain him for his connection to the latter case, but he was inLondon, England. Two months later, on 8 July, he turned himself in at the police station inBelgravia, west London, following aEuropean Arrest Warrant.[4][14]
Vale e Azevedo was extradited to Portugal on 13 November 2012 and was sentenced to ten years in prison on 2 July 2013, for six crimes, and ordered to pay Benfica around €7 million for the money he kept from the transfers of footballersScott Minto (£500,000),Gary Charles (£1,200,000),Tahar El Khalej ($850,000) andAmaral.[1]
On 7 June 2016, Vale e Azevedo was released from prison onparole after serving 3 years and 7 months of his 11.5-year sentence.[15][16] He fled to London in September 2018 on a private jet to escape the 10-year prison sentence ruled in 2013.[6][17] On 22 January 2019, the Lisbon Appeal Court declared that Vale e Azevedo's alleged crimes of embezzlement of €1.2 million related to Benfica's television rights, between 1998 and 1999, had expired, 18 years after the alleged crimes. Benfica announced they would appeal the decision to theSupreme Court of Justice.[6][18][19]
Since September 2022, he has declaredcontumacious for avoiding court since 2019 for scammingBCP into a €25 million loan and false assurances to court by document forgery, totaling 10 counts ofscam and 4 counts of document forgery. After an appeal, the decision was upheld on 14 November 2023.[20][21]
| Preceded by | President ofBenfica 1997–2000 | Succeeded by |