Soccer Star Fined $3.3M for Illegal Mansion Lake

Part of that fine is because Neymar swam in it
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 5, 2023 9:25 AM CDT
Soccer Star Fined $3.3M for Illegal Mansion Lake
Brazilian soccer player Neymar watches during the first half of Game 4 of the basketball NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets, Friday, June 9, 2023, in Miami.   (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Brazilian soccer star Neymar was fined more than $3.3 million for violating local environmental rules during renovations at his mansion outside Rio de Janeiro. The Mangaratiba City Hall said in a statement Monday night it had issued four fines after Neymar was accused of illegally building an artificial lake at his mansion, spending about $25,000 to do so. "Among the dozens of infractions that were noticed at the player's property are the start of an unauthorized construction, which requires environmental control; capture of a river course and detouring it without authorization; moving rock and sand; suppressing vegetation without authorization; and noncompliance of an embargo," the statement said.

A City Hall document obtained by the AP says that the latter charge is related to Neymar's decision to swim in the artificial lake despite the fact that local authorities had shown up to forbid him from that area due to environmental consequences. "The footballer was at the mansion on Friday and entered the lake, ignoring the restriction order made by the [environment] secretariat and local police, which showed up there the day before," the document said. "Because of that, the athlete was fined again." Neymar received the maximum fine for each of the violations he's accused of.

Brazilian media reported on Friday that Neymar threw a party that day to celebrate the completion of the artificial lake, and that the company that built it, Genesis Ecossistemas, celebrated the 10-day job on its social media channels. It said the lake measures 10,764 square feet. The 46-page City Hall document adds that the soccer player's father, Neymar da Silva Santos, verbally abused local authorities last week when they came to the mansion to halt construction. A spokesperson for the 31-year-old Neymar declined to comment on the issue after a request from the AP. The Paris Saint-Germain striker can appeal the decision.

(More Neymar stories.)

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