Latest news and stories about anti corruption in Portugal for expats and residents.
Member states must establish common minimum sanctions for corruption offences. Criminals could face prison sentences ranging from three to five years, according to new EU rules.
The Ministry of Justice highlights that “among the most relevant results of the last 21 months” are the Government Code of Conduct and the Risk Prevention Plan.
The national anti-corruption strategy must be measured and its success evaluated so that the subsequent strategy can be improved. This is one of the main criticisms the OECD makes of the Portuguese anti-corruption system. It does not measure, it does not compare, and therefore it does not know where the national integrity system can be improved.
The OECD has expressed criticism regarding the absence of an assessment mechanism for the current anti-corruption strategy.
On 15 January 2026 the Public Prosecution Service (“MP”) published Attorney‑General’s Directive No. 1/2026 of 13 January, which sets out the rules applicable to the preventive actions provided for in Law No. 36/94 of 29 September (“Law 36/94”), which provides measures to combat corruption and economic crime and ...
This is one of several new developments resulting from a series of changes to the PJ's leadership structure.
Pedro Fonseca, previously responsible for anti-corruption investigations, has been appointed deputy national director of the Polícia Judiciária (PJ).
The Attorney General of the Republic (PGR), Amadeu Guerra, wants preventive inquiries to be kept absolutely confidential, to last no longer than three months, to be inaccessible to third parties, and that 'only in very limited circumstances' may explanations be provided about this type of initiative by the Public Prosecutor's Office for crimes such as corruption, embezzlement or money laundering.
The presidential candidate met with eight experts on preventing and combating corruption, but denied that choosing the topic was related to his opponent. Abstention is one of the Socialist's 'concerns'.
A Judicial Police (PJ) team has been set up to work exclusively on alleged corruption cases in Madeira. This comes two years after the major police operation that led to the fall of the regional government.
André Ventura says it is possible to win the elections and describes this as “a struggle of the corrupt system against the anti-corruption candidate”.
The candidate supported by Livre calls for a 'character impervious to any kind of corruption' in defence of the Portuguese Constitution, citing Salgueiro Maia as an example.
While campaigning in Baixo Alentejo, António José Seguro visited Vidigueira, in the district of Beja, and said that, if elected, he will make tackling corruption his top priority.
There is already a law that provides for generalised transparency and the disclosure of politicians' assets.
