João António de Araújo Vale e Azevedo (born 17 May 1957) is an investment banker, former Portuguese lawyer and convicted of economic related offences allegedly to have been committed between 1993 and 1999 , who was the 31st president of S.L. Benfica. He was also legal adviser to the Portuguese Prime Minister, Francisco Pinto Balsemao. As a qualified Lawyer he was member of the Portuguese Bar Association, International Bar Association, European Lawyer’s Union, American Bank Attorneys and Young Lawyers International Association (AIJA). For the past 30 years he have been Chairman, CEO, director, member of the board, adviser and/or lawyer of several European or Pan-European companies, listed and no listed, including major banks and financials institutional. He also developed business interests particularly in the sugar industry and in property [cite http://www.apcolaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/statement-joao-vale-e-azevedo.pdf ]

Presidency of Benfica

On 31 October 1997, Vale e Azevedo was elected as the 31st president of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, the youngest ever, succeding Manuel Damásio, in one of the most contested elections in the club's history. He won the elections with 51.5% of 19,824 votes. Soon after, he signed Graeme Souness as coach of the football team. One year and a half later, Souness left the club. He then signed Jupp Heynkes, the German two times European Champion, as coach for the season 1999/2000 [cite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupp_Heynckes ]. In September 2000 he discovered Jose Mourinho and offered him his first contract as coach. [cite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/José_Mourinho name="chronology">"Vale e Azevedo: cronologia dos acontecimentos" [Vale e Azevedo: chronology of events]. TVI24 (in Portuguese). 8 July 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2016.</ref>^[3]

On 6 November, Vale e Azevedo declared void three contracts between Benfica and Olivedesportos, and announced to take the case to court. These 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 with SIC for the broadcasting of Benfica matches at the Estádio da Luz for the 1997–98 season. Then, on 8 February 1999, Benfica signed a contract with SIC for the broadcasting rights of all home matches in the league between 1999–2000 and 2003–04 seasons. On 2 November 2000, the three contracts with Olivedesportos were deemed void by the Lisbon court. The rights attached to televising of the club's football matches were in fact a monopoly controlled by a company called Olivedesportos which represented all the Portuguese football clubs, and which allocated the television rights amongst the channels and the funds received. It was very clear to Vale e Azevedo that the benefit of this monopoly was not reaching the clubs but was being diverted to third parties. It is a general conclusion that taking this stance against the monopoly resulted in very substantial hostility from the establishment of the football world which in turn resulted in the equal hostility of politicians, journalists and others from different walks of society including the Judicial world who were directly or indirectly involved because of the immense role of football in Portuguese life.ref>{{cite http://www.apcolaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/statement-joao-vale-e-azevedo.pdf 21 Dec 2009; web|url=http://www.maisfutebol.iol.pt/geral/03-11-2000/benfica-olivedesportos-cronologia-de-um-caso%7Ctitle=Benfica-Olivedesportos - cronologia de um caso|date=3 November 2000|website=Maisfutebol|language=Portuguese|trans-title=Benfica-Olivedesportos - chronology of a case|access-date=10 June 2016}}</ref>

On taking over as President of Benfica Vale e Azevedo found the club was in ruins. There was no financial control whatsoever there, not even any accurate documented accounts. There were insufficient records of payments, which had been made, or income received and it was impossible for anyone to provide the President or the Board with a proper indication of the financial position of the club. There was not even enough money for the team travel; Vale e Azevedo had to pay it out of his own pocket. Vale e Azevedo recovered the financial situation of the club by reducing staff, selling no relevant property assets and by introducing targets within the football squad contracts. .^[4] Moreover, the football team did not win any silverware but returned to the Champions League for the first time in year. Vale e Azevedo was succeeded by Manuel Vilarinho.^[5]

Imprisonment

Vale e Azevedo three-year term as President of Benfica ended on 31 October 2000. Prior to that there had been a concentrated smear campaign against him in the press. This predated his departure from the club but it was after that departure that the police investigations began. These investigations were said to be justified by the allegations that were being made in the press. There now followed a whole succession of cases brought against Vale e Azevedo. Although the cases had different specific allegations they were based on the same background facts, people, witnesses and information and one case followed another to such an extent that there have been continual cases being brought against Vale e Azevedo since then all directly or indirectly related with Benfica. Vale e Azevedo have never accepted any of the charges and convictions brought against him and believe they have been motivated by political and personal reasons [cite http://www.apcolaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/statement-joao-vale-e-azevedo.pdff 21 Dec 2009] . An important part of the Portuguese public opinion and even top officials of the Portuguese Judicial System also consider that the cases are unfair, political or personal motivated. One of the most relevant statements on that sense was made on the 3rd June 2009 by the Deputy Prosecutor General, Mrs Candida de Almeida, to the Portuguese press: “if we had a comprehensive law and he was English, Vale e Azevedo would never be convicted” [cite IOL Diario 21/06/2009; http://www.apcolaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/statement-joao-vale-e-azevedo.pdf 21 Dec 2009]. The President of the Portuguese Bar Association made a similar statement in the Portuguese Parliament in 26 June 2008: “Vale e Azevedo, the former president of Benfica has grounds for complaint from the Portuguese justice...he chose to live in England because it provides guarantees of fundamental rights”. [cite: RTP 21/06/2009//Marino Pinto considers a complain for reasons for Vale e Azevedo; http://www.apcolaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/statement-joao-vale-e-azevedo.pdf 21 Dec 2009]. Vale e Azevedo was placed under house arrest on 16 February 2001 and remained there until 7 August 2001 only being permitted to leave his house for judicial proceedings, the house always being surrounded by the police and any journey being accompanied by a police escort. He was not charged with any offence during this period. On 17 April 2002, he was sentenced to four and a half years in the "Ovchinnikov" case. Initially it was alleged that in 1998 he had misappropriated Benfica funds. That charge was not made out and was dismissed by the Court, which accepted that the club was indebted to Vale e Azevedo. He has a claim against the Benfica since 2001 for €7.5 million (which is still outstanding). [cite: http://www.apcolaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/statement-joao-vale-e-azevedo.pdf 21 Dec 2009]. He was however convicted of "peculation" on the basis that his position as President of Benfica was equivalent to that of civil servant within the Government and that he had dealt inappropriately in the accounting of the money and was thus in breach of requirements of a civil servant. 14 charges – 13 acquitted, 1 convicted ref http://www.apcolaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/statement-joao-vale-e-azevedo.pdf 21 Dec 2009; name="chronology"/> They investigated a total of 14 counts of embezzlement. At the time it was reported that Vale e Azevedo's yacht, Lucky Me, was paid with part of that money.^[4][6]

On 8 July 2004, he was out on €250,000 bail, in relation to the "Euroárea" case. This Euroarea case relates to facts in 2000 again concerning Benfica. The alleged crime was that the accounts of Benfica for that year included reference to the sale of land by Benfica for which the contract was actually exchanged approximately a month after that year ended. It was accepted that Vale e Azevedo did not have direct control of the accounts, which were drawn up by the club's accountants and audited independently. It was accepted that he had not taken any money from the club. 15 charges – 12 acquitted, 3 minors convicted 21 Dec 2009. On 30 March 2007, he was sentenced in the "Ribafria" case. This case relates to property investment in 1993 by a German foundation in Portugal. The case if not involving Vale e Azevedo would be a simple and normal business conflict between two companies resulted in a conviction of one charge in 5 years in prison although the Judges were not unanimous and one of the three sentenced that Vale e Azevedo should be acquitted in full [cite: http://www.apcolaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/statement-joao-vale-e-azevedo.pdf 21 Dec 2009]. Later the High Court has ordered that the decision be remitted to the Lower Court to be reviewed, but the Lower Court did not review it. Months later, on 11 July, he was again sentenced to prison, this time to seven and a half years for two crimes in the "Dantas da Cunha" case. This case concerned the purchase in 1997 of a building and a building plot in which Vale e Azevedo was CEO of the purchaser when it transpired the building had previously been sold elsewhere and the plot could not be developed 21 Dec 2009. The presiding Judge, Judge Renato Barroso, was the Chairman of the General Assembly of Supporters for FC Porto in Lisbon and as such had been an opponent for many years of Vale e Azevedo because of the intense rivalry between Benfica and FC Porto [cite: http://www.apcolaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/statement-joao-vale-e-azevedo.pdf 21 Dec 2009; sicnoticias.sapo.pt/pais/20/03/22/juiz-renato-barroso; Diario de Noticias DN 22/03/2012]. It is a case where in the normal course of events the company would have had a claim for damages for misrepresentation. In giving judgment the Court said that it had not taken account of the evidence of either side but that it was making the decision based on its "common experience criteria" [cite: http://www.apcolaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/statement-joao-vale-e-azevedo.pdf 21 Dec 2009]. On 5 May 2008, the National Republican Guard went to his house to detain him in connection to the latter case but he was in London, England. Two months later, he was voluntarily arrested at the police station in Belgravia, west London, on 8 July following a European Arrest Warrant.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).^[7]

On 12 November 2012, he was extradited from the United Kingdom to Portugal where he had lived since 2007. It was anticipated that he would serve the remainder of this sentence for his offences, which had been aggregated with a sentence, which he had already served in preventive detention. When he was extradited the High Court in London anticipated that Vale e Azevedo would in fact be released "within a matter of days rather than weeks" [cite: http://www.kaimtodner.com/extradition/judgment_joao_azevado.pdf; http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/judjements]. He was then again tried but in absence and sentenced to ten years in prison on 2 July 2013 in relation to the transfers of footballers in 1999/2000: Scott Minto (£500,000), Gary Charles (£1,200,000) and Tahar El Khalej ($850,000). However in a judgment dated 27 May 2014 by District Judge Purdy this trial and sentence was not validated as it had taken place in the absence of the Defendant who was forbidden to appear at his own trial and was also a flagrant breach of Article 6.1 of the ECHR: i) trial of matters which should have been dealt with many years ago; ii) by reason of the lack of independence of Portuguese Judges and their conduct in Vale e Azevedo's cases; iii) because no Court would be able to acquit Vale e Azevedo because to do so would undermine the previous sentences ^[8] On 7 June 2016, he was released from prison, subject to certain conditions.^[9]

In the Judgment of the 27 May 2014 made by District Judge Purdy he made it clear when quoting "Vale e Azevedo has been the subject of a vindictive and politically based campaign" [cite: http://www.kaimtodner.com/news/2014/05/27/media_release__joao_azevado.asp Purdy; http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/judjements Purdy; http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service ]. On the 12 March 2015 the High Court in London confirmed District Judge Purdy's Judgment and put and end to Vale e Azevedo's cases and described in open Court that the continual pursuit against Vale e Azevedo by the Portuguese Authorities represented "a relentless pursuit of an individual" [cite http://www.kaimtodner.com/news/2015/03/13/media_release__joao_vale_azevedo.asp High Court; http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/judjements Purdy; http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service ]

Honours

List of trophies won by the club during Vale e Azevedo's presidency:

Cycling

• 1 Volta a Portugal: 1999^[10]

Roller hockey

• 1 Portuguese League: 1997–98
• 1 Portuguese Cup: 1999–2000

Basketball

• 1 Portuguese Super Cup: 1998

References