The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested five men and three women on Tuesday, suspected of a multi-million euro qualified fraud involving the sale of vacant properties owned by foreign citizens with 'Golden Visas'. The 'Golden Key' operation, conducted by the Lisbon and Tagus Valley branch of the PJ, followed complaints filed in July 2025. The suspects allegedly used forged documents, such as IDs and powers of attorney, to sell the properties without the owners' consent. The group, aged between 26 and 62, then laundered the proceeds through luxury goods and bank transfers. The PJ has recovered several properties and seized approximately 1.5 million euros in bank assets.
PJ arrests eight people for fraudulent sale of vacant properties belonging to 'Golden Visa' holders
Wednesday, 18 March 2026RSS
Context & Explainers
The Golden Visa (Portuguese: Autorização de Residência para Investimento) is Portugal's residence-by-investment program, created in 2012, that grants non-EU nationals a residency permit after qualifying investments such as certain real-estate purchases, capital transfers or job-creating projects. It usually provides Schengen travel rights and a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship after five years, though eligible investment types and minimum amounts have changed in recent years.
