Vasco da Gama judicial recovery: Court appoints new gatekeeper

The 4th Business Court of Rio de Janeiro has modified the judicial recovery process for Vasco da Gama and Vasco SAF. The court decided to reduce the number of judicial administrators from two to one, retaining the firm Wald Advogados while removing K2 Consultoria.

Despite the reduction in administrators, Judge Simone Chevrand appointed a ‘gatekeeper’ to oversee the judicial administrator's work. The role was assigned to the firm Gussem e Lemos Basto Advogados, led by former Rio de Janeiro Prosecutor General José Eduardo Gussem. This creates a three-layer supervision structure involving Wald as the administrator, Athos de Andrade Figueira Neves as a watchdog, and the newly appointed gatekeeper.

The Public Prosecutor's Office (Ministério Público) expressed “strangeness” regarding the decision. Prosecutor Anco Márcio Valle noted that while the reduction of administrators was intended to save costs, the appointment of a gatekeeper introduces a new expense at a time when the club's DIP loan resources have already been depleted.