Jonas, a former Benfica striker, was detained this Monday at Lisbon airport upon arrival from Brazil.
The ex-footballer was identified when he handed over his passport for control by the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) officials and the warning signal was issued by the Tax Authority. Jonas, 38 years old, was meanwhile constituted a defendant within the scope of «Operação Fora de Jogo» and was given the lightest measure of coercion, term of identity and residence.
contacted by morefootballTiago Gonçalves, Jonas’ brother and businessman, said that «when passing through customs, he was asked to [Jonas] provide updated information on current contacts (in Brazil) and current address (in Brazil)», given that the player now has tax residency in his country, due to the «end of his professional career and especially the pandemic [de covid-19]em 2020».
The ex-footballer’s brother also refers to our newspaper that he was informed that, after updating his personal data, he will be called “to provide information regarding an investigation against Benfica, in which some players are mentioned who, for that reason, club have passed at certain specific seasons’.
Remember that, in March 2020, the Tax Authority carried out searches of several clubs, among which the big three, V. Guimarães and Sp. Braga. At the height, the Public Ministry constituted 47 defendants: 24 legal persons and 23 individuals. Among the defendants were “football players, agents or intermediaries, lawyers and sports officials” on suspicion of qualified tax fraud and money laundering.
Jonas ended his career in 2019, after five seasons with Benfica, where he played 183 games and scored 137 goals, becoming the club’s second-best foreign scorer, behind Óscar Cardozo (172).
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