Chapecoense asked for a discount of up to 85% to pay the debts it has with the families of the 71 victims of the tragedy. In addition, the club proposed that deposits be made over 13 years.
The team stopped paying compensation to the families about six months ago – who, in response, asked that images of the athletes be removed from the institution’s website and properties.
Currently, debts with families are around R$ 28 million, according to people linked to the process and already considering the fine for non-compliance with the agreement. This amount can exceed R$ 50 million, taking into account the actions that are still being processed in court.
In its judicial recovery plan, to which the Sheet had access, Chapecoense proposes two conditions for the payment of indemnities.
The club asks for a 65% discount on the balance up to 150 minimum wages (that is, up to R$ 181,800), with payment in 12 months and correction by the TR — the so-called reference rate, which, currently, does not even reach 1% per year.
For the amount that exceeds 150 minimum wages, Chapecoense asks for an 85% discount, with payment in ten years, a grace period of 36 months and the same correction rate. The total balance would be paid off in 13 years.
Alex Passos, administrative and financial vice president of Chapecoense, said that the judicial recovery plan is premised on the need to maintain the football team – which, according to him, is what will generate the necessary revenue for the payment of debts.
“Chapecoense would like to pay all the families and all the debts that were contracted in past years, by other administrations, and would like to do this in the shortest possible time”, said Passos.
“However, it does not have the financial conditions to do so. In view of this situation, the club presented a restructuring plan within what was presented as possible to pay, otherwise, it would run the risk of entering into civil insolvency, being prevented from paying any value,” he said.
The plan still needs to be accepted by creditors — among them, families — before being put into practice.
“It is with sadness that we receive Chapecoense’s judicial recovery plan, but not with surprise. Today, under the tutelage of a judicial recovery, once again we have to believe in a board with members who have already been there at the worst moment. Chapecoense in 2017”, said Marcel Camillo, lawyer for part of the families.
LaMia flight 2933, which was transporting the Chapecoense team to the Copa Sul-America final, crashed on the outskirts of Medellín, Colombia, on November 28, 2016. The crash killed players, coaching staff, officials, journalists and employees.
Compensation for families was only agreed in 2020. The club committed to settle 26 shares and pledged its supporter-partner money as a guarantee of payment.
On the five-year anniversary of the tragedy (that is, in November 2021), 14,000 people attended Arena Condá for a tribute in memory of the deceased.
But, as shown by Sheet at the time, the club failed to pay damages two months after the event. The following month, after being relegated in the Brazilian Championship and with a debt of R$ 120 million, Chapecoense entered a judicial recovery process.
Bothered by the breach of the agreement, widows asked Chapecoense to remove photos of the deceased athletes from its website and from the stadium’s premises.
“This new Chapecoense board never sought dialogue with the families. It filed a request for judicial recovery and we, family members, were warned via the press that we would not receive. [do clube, Nei Maidana] went to the CPI [Comissão Parlamentar de Inquérito] with the speech that he would never harm the families and this plan is the opposite of his speech”, said Valdecida Paiva, widow of steering wheel Gil.
The speech she refers to took place at the CPI of the Senate that investigates the tragedy. Maidana was elected president of Chapecoense in December 2021, the same month the club started not paying compensation.
Meanwhile, the families are also seeking compensation from the insurance companies for the flight that crashed in Colombia.
Recently, Tokio Marine Kiln — the flight’s reinsurer and ultimately responsible for the payments — offered US$ 25 million (R$ 122 million) to the families. The value, however, is ten times less than what they asked for.
As an instrument of comparison, the United States Justice has already stipulated that the compensation in the case must be US$ 844 million (R$ 4.1 billion, at the current price).
There are also actions against Tokio in Brazil and England. In the latter, a report by Sheet also showed that the reinsurer appointed 12 other companies as co-responsible for the flight policy.
The CPI, in turn, is in its final stretch and has not yet heard from Tokio Marine — despite the fact that there is an accepted application for this.
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