Overview
- The council voted to remove Melo from the club's membership in a meeting at Parque São Jorge, with reports saying 147 of 156 conselheiros present backed expulsion.
- The council concluded Melo led a May 2025 effort to retake the presidency that included entering the council room and relying on an ofício from Maria Ocampos that was later deemed invalid.
- Melo is already a defendant in criminal cases that charge him with association to crime, money laundering and qualified theft linked to the VaideBet sponsorship contract.
- His expulsion follows actions this week that removed Andrés Sanchez and prompted Duilio Monteiro Alves to renounce his membership, a concentrated drive by club bodies to reassert control.
- Police findings by the DPPC allege a network of shell companies diverted sponsorship money to intermediaries such as UJ Football Talent, a claim denied by the accused and central to ongoing investigations that could affect prosecutions and club finances.