Organizer takes a stand after alleged R$1 million donation scam from Nego Di comes to light

Comedian Eduardo Gustavo Christ, better known as the character Badin, o Colono, used social media to provide explanations after a report indicated that digital influencer and former BBB Dilson Alves da Silva Neto, aka Nego Di, had lied about having donated R$1 million to a fundraising campaign for Rio Grande do Sul. Badin was one of the creators of the online fundraiser and, at the time, publicly celebrated the contribution.

According to Band, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rio Grande do Sul observed that Nego Di deposited only R$100, while publicly claiming to have made the million-dollar donation. The discovery was reportedly made after the ex-BBB’s bank secrecy was broken, and his arrest was ordered last Sunday (14) for fraud. Wanted by the F5Nego Di’s defense had not commented until the last update of this text.

In a video on his stories, Badin gave his version of what happened. “During the floods, he [Nego Di] helped a lot with the publicity and one day he called me and said: ‘Dude, I want to donate R$1 million to Vakinha’. I said: ‘Wonderful, perfect’. My God, why would I refuse a donation? I said: ‘Dude, go for it’.”

Badin said that, according to Di, the amount would be received in installments and that the deposit would be made by “some people” directly into the fundraiser. “Then he sent me that receipt and I posted it and thanked him, because I was really happy, because a donation of R$1 million was going to come in,” he said.

The comedian said he had no way of knowing where the money coming into the fundraiser was coming from and that donations were reaching R$10 million per day, which made it difficult to track their origin in detail. In total, the campaign has raised more than R$77 million since May 1st.

According to Badin, the money was entirely managed by the Vakinha Institute, which was also responsible for the campaign. “The demands would come to me, I would pass them on to them, and they would allocate them,” he explained. “I had no way of knowing whether his donation had been received or not.”

Despite the recent problems, Badin avoided drawing conclusions about the former BBB. “I’m not here to badmouth anyone, okay? Because during the floods his role was very important,” he said. “He helped a lot of people, did a lot of things and helped a lot to publicize the fundraiser that we were promoting.”

After posting the video, Bandin received criticism from some followers. “I just saw your ‘statement’. Dude, he donated R$100. Don’t you think it’s worth investigating before making a statement? This is far from being a hate message, you know? Just because I don’t think you can cover up something like that,” wrote one follower.

“Yes, maybe a lot of things could have been done differently, but I was just happy that the donation was going to happen,” Badin said. “That’s it.”

ARREST OF NEGO DI

Nego Di was arrested last Sunday (14) in Florianópolis (SC). He is accused of fraud and of having harmed at least 370 people in scams.

According to the Civil Police of Rio Grande do Sul, his online store stopped delivering products that were purchased by followers, resulting in a total loss for customers that could reach R$5 million.

On the 12th, he and his wife had already been the targets of an operation by the Public Ministry under the accusation of money laundering with illegal raffles.