The Brazilian justice system decided this Thursday to provisionally suspend the police investigation against Samir Xaud, president of the Brazilian Football Federation. Football (CBF), who was being investigated for an alleged vote-buying scheme in a regional election.

The Regional Electoral Tribunal of the state of Roraima determined that no concrete elements of authorship and criminal materiality capable of associating participation in a practice of electoral crime were demonstrated, according to the CBF itself through an official statement.

Furthermore, the court described as disproportionate the order issued by a judge that allowed the police search of Xaud™s residence and the CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro last Wednesday.

Samir Xaud denounces serious negative exposure

Following the court decision, Xaud stated that he remained calm throughout the process, despite what he described as an injustice and the serious negative exposure suffered by his public image due to the police operation, which investigates events prior to his arrival to the presidency of the CBF.

The investigation, known as Operation Black Box, began in September 2024, shortly before the municipal elections in Brazil. At that time, the Federal Police seized 500,000 reais (about $90,000) that were allegedly going to be used to buy votes.

Million-dollar seizures and background in the CBF

As part of the operation, a judge ordered the seizure of more than 10 million reais (approximately $1.8 million) in accounts linked to those investigated, although it was not specified whether those included those of the president of the CBF.

Samir Xaud was elected on May 25, 2025, for a four-year term, replacing Ednaldo Rodrigues, who was removed from office due to alleged irregularities in his own electoral process.