Latest news and stories about corruption in Lisboa, Portugal for expats and residents.
Duarte Moral, his wife, and former PS/Oeiras leader Rui Nascimento have been arrested in connection with an investigation into suspicious public procurement contracts involving Socialist Party-led municipalities.
A report by the General Inspectorate for Health Activities has ordered Santa Maria Hospital dermatology teams to repay over €818,000 for improper surgery payments authorized between 2021 and 2025, a period involving the current Minister of Health.
The Chega party has tabled a motion of no confidence against Oeiras Mayor Isaltino Morais following his indictment for the alleged misuse of 150,000 euros in public funds for personal expenses.
Oeiras Mayor Isaltino Morais and 22 municipal officials face charges of embezzlement and abuse of power for allegedly misusing 150,000 euros of public funds on over 1,400 meals between 2017 and 2025.
The Socialist Party in Lisbon has accused Mayor Carlos Moedas of illegally retaining Alberto Laplaine Guimarães as municipal secretary-general, arguing that his tenure has exceeded the legal ten-year limit and that a new public tender was required.
Susana Seca also criticised the Public Prosecutor's Office for wasting time with pointless actions during the trial, altered the order of evidence production, and proceeded to schedule an additional 78 sessions for 2027.
PS wants to hear from 34 people, most of whom are linked to the Judiciary Police, but also the contractor and friend of Luís Neves, João dos Santos Carvalho. The Liberals want to hear from Ricardo Carrilho and Marcelo.
The Public Prosecution Service recently archived the inquiry opened in 2012 regarding suspicions of corruption, economic participation in business, and document forgery at the former public company Parque Escolar.
The Judicial Police (PJ) operation carried out on Monday at a Lisbon museum took place at the National Coach Museum. An official source from Museus e Monumentos de Portugal confirmed that 'irregularities associated with the ticket office' had been detected. The investigation, led by the National Anti-Corruption Unit, concerns suspects aged 48 and 61 who allegedly issued discounted or free tickets in unauthorised situations, pocketing the money paid by visitors. The crimes involved include embezzlement and computer forgery. The investigation, part of the 'Free Pass' operation, suggests the illicit activity may date back further than the currently identified period of March 2026.
Former president of the Estrela Parish Council, Luís Newton, and former president of the Santo António Parish Council, Vasco Morgado, are to be tried for corruption and malfeasance.
Former president of the Estrela Parish Council Luís Newton and former president of the Santo António Parish Council Vasco Morgado will stand trial for crimes of corruption and malfeasance.
Only 4 out of the 60 defendants accused by the Public Prosecutor's Office had their cases dismissed by the Central Criminal Investigation Court. The remaining 56, including three former MPs and several former local officials, will face trial.
Of the 59 defendants charged by the Public Prosecutor's Office, only three will not proceed to trial: Ângelo Pereira, former PSD councillor for the Lisbon City Council, Inês Drummond, former PS councillor for the Lisbon municipality, and Ivone Gonçalves, a PSD militant from Loures.
The case involves crimes of embezzlement and computer fraud, and according to the statement released by the Judiciary Police (PJ), the detainees are a man and a woman.
'What can I say? This is absurd, the theatre of the absurd has opened.' This was how José Sócrates reacted upon leaving the Campus de Justiça in Lisbon to the postponement of the session in which he was to be tried for money laundering. The hearing had begun on Monday, October 19, but only for the presiding judge, Rúben Vieira, to announce the transfer to October 30. The former prime minister told journalists that the judge declared the session open and then closed it, calling it an unprecedented act of violence and arbitrariness. The postponement allows the court to rule on preliminary issues regarding the trial's viability, following motions filed by Sócrates' defence on Friday, October 16. The former PM explained the late filing by noting that his new lawyer, Filipe Batista, had only had two days to prepare them. The case involves allegations that, between 2011 and 2014, Sócrates and businessman Carlos Santos Silva used bank accounts belonging to companies and associates to conceal illicit funds. The defence argues that these facts are already being addressed in the main Operation Marquês trial, claiming that this new trial constitutes double jeopardy. The proceedings are scheduled to continue until at least April 2027.
Former Prime Minister José Sócrates and businessman Carlos Santos Silva appear in court this Monday to answer for money laundering charges in an autonomous case resulting from the 2021 instructional decision of Operation Marquis. In addition to money laundering, Sócrates and Santos Silva were initially accused of document forgery. However, this...
The Central Criminal Investigation Court decides today whether to send the 59 defendants in the Tutti Frutti case to trial, and under what terms, regarding crimes of corruption and malfeasance in Lisbon municipalities. The reading of the instructional decision is scheduled for 14:00 at the Lisbon Justice Campus, as indicated to Lusa...
Former Prime Minister José Sócrates has labelled the money laundering trial beginning this Monday in Lisbon as “absurd,” noting it stems from the 2021 instructional decision of the Operação Marquês case. The charges involve the alleged use of bank accounts belonging to businessman Carlos Santos Silva, his wife, and Sócrates' chauffeur between 2011 and 2014 to funnel illicit funds to the former Prime Minister. Prosecutors claim Santos Silva acted as a straw man to conceal bribes intended to benefit the Lena Group, the Espírito Santo Group, and the Vale do Lobo luxury development. Sócrates argues that the court is initiating a redundant trial on facts already under discussion in the main Operação Marquês case, which has been ongoing since July 2025. He contends that being forced to defend himself simultaneously in two different courts against overlapping factual matters is a breach of due process and a personal burden. Both Sócrates and Santos Silva, who deny the allegations, will be judged by a collective of three judges until at least April 2027.
Corruption crimes have been on trial since 2025. Sócrates speaks of “State violence” and claims that the court “is preparing to start a new trial regarding facts that are already under discussion.”
The reading of the preliminary ruling is scheduled for 2:00 PM. The number of defendants was reduced to 59 in April, following the death of Fernando Braancamp, who was charged with 39 counts of passive corruption.
The former prime minister José Sócrates described the money laundering trial, which begins today in Lisbon, as “absurd”, in a case resulting from the 2021 instructional decision of the Operation Marquês proceedings.
At issue is the alleged use by the defendants, between 2011 and 2014, of bank accounts belonging to a company controlled by Carlos Santos Silva.
Former minister Manuel Pinho has been released after almost five years of house arrest in the context of the EDP case, the court determined, while simultaneously prohibiting the defendant from leaving the country. The information was provided to Lusa by the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon, to which the former government official's defence had submitted a request on Thursday.
Opposition councillors in the Cascais municipal executive are not surprised by suspicions of conflicts of interest involving Minister Miguel Pinto Luz regarding changes to urban planning legislation, though the minister has denied the bill was tailored to his interests. According to Socialist councillor João Ruivo, the amendment to the legal regimes of Urbanisation and Building (RJUE)...
Ana Sofia Dias was hired by the Agualva and Mira Sintra Parish Council. After being questioned by CM, president Helena Cardoso (PS) proceeded with the termination of the contract.
The 2020 intervention at the former Belém Military Hospital in Lisbon, intended to urgently accommodate mild COVID-19 patients, is one of the projects under investigation in a case where 73 defendants, including former Director-General of National Defence Resources Alberto Coelho and several businessmen, face charges of corruption and other economic and financial crimes.
The Attorney General's Office insists that the law does not allow António Costa to consult the case file because he is not a party to the investigation. Furthermore, the Minister of Justice argues that judicial proceedings cannot be allowed to drag on.
The 10-year prison sentence was confirmed in April 2025 by the Lisbon Court of Appeal, which prompted the appeal filed with the Supreme Court of Justice.
The former Minister of Economy's lawyer argued again this Thursday, October 1, that Manuel Pinho did not commit any crime of corruption, regarding the appeal at the Supreme Court of Justice, with a decision scheduled for October 15. In the appeal against his 2024 conviction of 10 years in prison for alleged corruption by former banker Ricardo Salgado, lawyer Ricardo Sá Fernandes stated that Pinho cannot be convicted of corruption because he is not a corrupt person. The defence also highlighted Pinho's rift with Salgado prior to his ministerial role to argue he did not act in favour of BES/GES. The Public Prosecutor's Office maintained that the previous convictions were sound and the sentence is not excessive. Pinho is seeking acquittal or, alternatively, a reduction of his sentence to seven and a half years.
In addition to their relationships with José Sócrates, those questioned were also asked about other names involved in the case, such as Armando Vara or Carlos Santos Silva
