The Central Directorate of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP) revealed this Wednesday that it is carrying out seven house searches in apartments located in Lisbon. According to the Observer, the raids were carried out at the homes of Manuel Pinho’s wife, Alexandra Pinho, with the aim of seeking documentation from the former minister and investigating the origin of the acquisition of the properties.
Alexandra Pinho is also accused in the EDP/CMEC case, in which Manuel Pinho is the main suspect on suspicion of corruption, tax fraud, money laundering and other economic and financial crimes.
The Observer knows that the origin of these searches is related to the trip that Manuel Pinho made in early February between the Algarve and Braga, at which time the former Minister of Economy was placed under house arrest from a family home in Albufeira to a farm in Braga (previously under construction) that will belong to him.
Supreme Court of Justice refuses to release former Minister Manuel Pinho
The former minister, who was being escorted by the GNR in the change of residence, asked to stop over in Lisbon and would have been in the apartments in question, which are now being searched. It was there that the Public Ministry discovered that Alexandra Pinho had that heritage in the capital.
In a statement, the Public Ministry reveals that the raids take place within the scope of the EDP/CMEC process. “These evidence proceedings, chaired by the Public Ministry, were carried out by the multidisciplinary investigation team of the DCIAP, the SIATID (Section for Investigation, Analysis and Processing of Digital Information), made up of elements from various Criminal Police Corps” , can be read in the note.
The Supreme Court of Justice (STJ) rejected the request for habeas corpus presented by the defense of Manuel Pinho and rejected his immediate release in the framework of the EDP case. The STJ did not agree with the lawyer Ricardo Sá Fernandes, who requested that the house arrest of the former Minister of Economy be declared illegal.
Source: Observadora
