Investigators found on the phone of Bruno Henrique’s brother a series of messages that implicate the player and directly link him to the match-fixing scheme. The athlete has been indicted for fraud and manipulating a sports competition.
The Federal Police (PF) analyzed 3,989 WhatsApp conversations from Bruno Henrique, many of which were empty or deleted — which, to the investigators, may indicate that the forward erased part of the records.
However, the agents seized the phone of the player’s brother, Wander Nunes Pinto Júnior, and identified messages that show Bruno Henrique’s involvement in the scheme to receive a yellow card during the match against Santos in the 2023 Brazilian Championship.
In messages exchanged on August 29, Wander — who was also targeted by a PF operation in November of last year — asked his brother if he was close to a suspension in the championship:
“Dude, do you already have 2 yellow cards in the league?”
Bruno Henrique replied: “Yes.”
Wander continued: “When they tell you to take the third, let us know hahaha.”
Bruno Henrique answered: “Against Santos.”
Then Wander asked: “How many weeks from now?”
Bruno Henrique: “Check on Google.”
Wander: “October 29,” “Do you think you can last that long without a card? hahaha”
Bruno Henrique: “I won’t complain,” “Only if I go in hard on someone.”
Wander replied: “Nice, I’ll already save the money — a successful investment.”
To the PF, the exchange of messages indicates that Bruno Henrique passed insider information to his brother regarding receiving a yellow card in the match against Santos. Investigators noted a particular part: when Wander asked if his brother could "hold out until then without getting a card."
Bruno Henrique said he would only get a card if he went “hard on someone,” and upon that, Wander said he would “save money,” allegedly to place a bet on the Flamengo vs. Santos match. He even called it a “successful investment.”
The PF split the 10 people involved in the match-fixing scheme into two groups, according to their affiliations. The first group consists of three bettors with family ties to Bruno Henrique:
- Wander Nunes Pinto Junior (brother) – bet R$ 380.86 (US$65) and received R$ 1,180.67 (US$201), in Santos match.
- Ludymilla Araújo Lima (sister-in-law) – placed bets on two platforms: R$ 380.86 for a R$ 1,180.67 return on one, and R$ 500 (US$85) for R$ 1,425 (US$242) on the other, in Santos match.
- Poliana Ester Nunes Cardoso (cousin) – bet R$ 380.86 and received R$ 1,180.67, in Santos match.
The second group consists of six independent bettors.
R$ 10,000 (US$1,700) to join the scheme
On October 7, investigators found another exchange of messages between Bruno Henrique and his brother, again discussing a yellow card in the game against Santos. The messages show the forward texting Wander, whom he calls “Juninho”:
“Hey Juninho,”
“Can you make a high-value Pix transfer from your account?”
Wander replied:
“I can, BH,”
“What amount?”
BH: “10 grand.”
Wander: “I can.”
The conversation continued until Bruno Henrique said:
“You can’t be the one,”
“We have the same last name.”
Wander asked: “Will it be a problem?”
“What is it?”
BH replied:
“It will,”
“Betting stuff here.”
To the PF, this suggests that Wander was interested in joining the alleged scheme. Then Wander asked:
“Hey, tell me about that, I wanna bet here, I need some money hahaha.”
BH replied: “This one’s too heavy, not for you.”
Wander insisted: “If I can make R$ 1,000, that’s good enough if it’s legit.”
BH said that to join the scheme, you’d need R$ 10,000 available weekly:
“You gotta have 10k every weekend.”
Wander said the forward could send the money to a third party who would transfer it to him. But BH replied he was already handling it, and that it wouldn’t work with his brother. Wander ended with:
“Got it,”
“Damn,”
“My eyes even lit up.”
Another message that caught the investigators’ attention was when Wander asked if his brother could “get a yellow today.” The messages show the forward replied:
“Can’t, I already have 1.”
The match was Flamengo vs. Corinthians at Neo Química Arena in São Paulo. Bruno Henrique did, in fact, receive a yellow card in that match. For the PF, this indicates that Wander had access to insider information about when the player would be carded.
The conversation continued, with Wander asking:
“Did it work, did you get it?”
BH replied: “It did,”
“Lajinha,”
“10.”
To the PF, the mention of “Lajinha” refers to someone Bruno Henrique may have used in the betting scheme.
Wander celebrated:
“Nice hahaha,”
“Just gotta celebrate now,”
“Are you betting on a win or yellow card or something like that?”
BH replied:
“It’s not about that,”
“Horse stuff.”
Given that, investigators suspect the messages also refer to fraudulent bets related to horse racing. This theory is supported by Bruno Henrique’s caution in not involving his brother directly — due to their shared surname — and also Wander’s comment:
“Just gotta celebrate now.”
According to the PF, this suggests the outcome of the bet was already known or guaranteed.
Phone call on the eve of the match
According to the PF, on the eve of the Flamengo vs. Santos match in the 2023 Brazilian Championship, Bruno Henrique called his brother to confirm he’d get a yellow card in the match. After a brief exchange of messages, the Flamengo player called Wander — an action the PF believes was to notify him that he’d intentionally draw a card.
The investigation began after a report by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) on July 31, 2024. The analysis was triggered by an alert from the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) regarding possible irregularities in the match against Santos on November 1, 2023.
CBF’s reports to the PF showed that unusual bets were placed on Betano (Kaizen Gaming) by new and existing users — many from Belo Horizonte (MG), Bruno Henrique’s hometown.
Although the forward had no prior history of match-fixing, the CBF stated that the pattern of bets along with Bruno’s behavior — receiving two cards (a yellow for a foul and a red for insulting the referee) — raised suspicions and prompted the IBIA alert.
Source: GMB / Metrópoles
