The São Paulo City Council on Tuesday afternoon (November 11) established a Congressional Inquiry Committee (CPI) into the Jockey Club to investigate possible tax and real estate fraud. The commission will also investigate the management of tax debts, the disposal of construction potential, and possible inaction by public authorities in this situation.
The creation of the committee was made possible only after a change in the House of Commons bylaws that allowed no more than five CPIs to proceed at the same time. The movement for change comes on the heels of former House Speaker Milton Leite (Unian Brasil) filing criminal charges against the club’s lawyers for racial discrimination.
But the chamber of commerce said in an official document that the committee was energized “following recent complaints against the Jockey Club for alleged irregular use of local and federal public resources brought to restore historic sites.” In addition, the statement said the club was also indicted for around R$1 billion in city tax debts, including IPTU.
Councilor Gilberto Nascimento Jr. (PL), author of the CPI request, said: “It is necessary to investigate the possible existence of misuse of objectives and inappropriate allocation of resources, the status of tax debt management and labor debt, the effectiveness of municipal inspections and the adoption of appropriate administrative measures.”
Check out CPI members
- President: Gilberto Nascimento (PL)
- Vice President: San San Pereira (Republican)
- Reported by: Carlos Bezerra Jr. (PSD)
- Other members: Dison Silva (PT), Elizeu Gabriel (PSB), Kenji Ito (Podemos), Luana Alves (PSol), Roberto Tripoli (PV), Silvinho Leite (Unian)
As a result of the rule changes, the Jockey CPI will exceptionally take place at the same time as the Methanol, Jardim Pantanal, Pancadoes, Iris and HIS (Social Interest Housing) committees.
Racism against former city council member
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives and still influential Milton Leight has announced that he will sue the Jockey Club’s lawyers after he was called a “crazy ape” in the club’s request for judicial recovery.
In a March 2025 document, Jockey questions the actions of Leyte Island and the City of Sao Paulo in maintaining the entity. Lawyers Juanes Kutujian, Joan Boyajian, Vicente Paolillo and José Mauro Marquez allege that the facility was the target of “state terrorism” and a coup d’état that attempted to take over the racecourse by force. “It’s worth reproducing the journalistic warning that the above-mentioned City Council member trumpeted like a deranged ape: ‘Horse owners, get your horses out of there or you’ll be arrested,'” the article said.
According to the dictionary, an ape is something that resembles a human, and in zoology, it refers to the family of primates that includes monkeys such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.
Milton Leight said in a memo that he reevaluated his citation style after discussing the merits of the lawsuit. In addition to criminal proceedings against racial discrimination, he said he will be represented by experts from the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB).
“As a black man who has fought discrimination all his life and, as president of the São Paulo City Council, became the first person in history to impeach a lawmaker for racial discrimination, I will never remain silent in the face of crimes and injustices like this,” Leite said. “We regret that these attorneys overstepped the bounds of ethics, respect, and legality in their intent to defend their clients,” he concluded.
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