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The raids carried out on the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM) for suspicion of corruption in the award of several public contracts were born from a certificate from the Operação Teia – whose main suspects are Joaquim Couto, former mayor of the PS, his wife Manuela Couto and others relevant socialists from Greater Porto.

At the center of the searches of the PCM, the legislative heart of the Government, are the suspicions of favoritism in the award of contracts for the provision of computer services. As the Observer learned, Manuela Couto is one of the businesswomen suspected of active corruption.

Mayor of Santo Tirso received 40 thousand euros from women’s companies that he helped promote

The Observer knows that Manuela Couto is the other target of the raids carried out by the Judicial Police (PJ) since dawn in various locations. Her home was visited by PJ inspectors to collect evidence for the records kept by the Central Directorate of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP).

As far as we know, at the center of the extraction of the Teia Operation certificate are the wiretaps carried out on Manuela Couto and her husband Joaquim Couto.

Businesswoman Manuela Couto

The Observer contacted Nuno Brandão, a lawyer for Joaquim and Manuela Couto, but the lawyer declined to comment.

What is Web Operation?

Operation Teia marked the summer of 2019 and involves several relevant socialist mayors from Greater Porto and Minho, with Joaquim Couto, historical leader of the PS and mayor of Santo Tirso, at the head.

Joaquim Couto and his wife Manuela Couto were arrested in June 2019, along with Miguel Costa Gomes (then mayor of Barcelos) and Laranja Pontes (then president of the Portuguese Institute of Oncology in Porto). The mayors were released on bail, but Manuela Couto remained under house arrest (which, however, ceased) for charges that the Porto Investigating Court considered “extremely serious”, “highly organized crime” and that could lead “to of impunity”.

Website operation. Judge says that the crimes “are extremely serious” and can generate a “sensation of impunity”

At the heart of Operação Teia is the small business empire of Manuela Couto, who reportedly won contracts worth more than €1.4 million from the Chamber of Barcelos and the IPO of Porto. Joaquim Couto is suspected of having acted in total collusion with his wife, and even the then mayor of Santo Tirso assumed the alleged role of public contract attorney for the five companies owned by his wife, Manuela de él.

Precisely for this reason, Joaquim Couto is the defendant in Operation Teia with the most criminal charges. From active corruption, through the crimes of economic participation in business and influence peddling and reaching the alleged embezzlement and embezzlement of use, there are many and varied alleged crimes of which the mayor of Santo Tirso is suspected. Always for one reason: to help your wife’s companies get more contracts.

After their constitution as defendants, Joaquim Couto resigned from the municipality of Santo Tirso and Miguel Costa Gomes was also dismissed from the municipality of Barcelos.

Going back to this morning’s raids, which refer to an investigation carried out by the DCIAP that was born from Operation Teia but is autonomous, the Judicial Police continues, at this time, to raid the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

The news was advanced by CNN, and confirmed to the Observer by a PCM source, and there are suspicions of corruption and crimes related to the violation of regulations on public procurement of private companies.

The government says there were no “records in the offices of members of the government”

At the end of the Council of Ministers, the Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM), André Moz Caldas, also confirmed the raids, but stressed that “they did not include raids on the offices of members of the Government” and that they focused solely on PCM services.

Moz Caldas stressed that the PCM will fully cooperate with the authorities. “We will continue the investigation with seriousness and serenity,” he said, requesting, however, “speed” in the process, “so that the prestige of the institutions is not affected.”

MP confirms investigation for suspicion of corruption

The main objective of the authorities will be, according to CNN, the secretary general of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, David Xavier, suspected of obtaining personal benefits, using bribes, in relation to direct adjustments in the contracting of computer systems to a company located in the north of the country. To Rádio Observador, David Xavier declined to comment on the case. “I have no statement to make,” he said.

With a career in the field of public administration, David Xavier was appointed, in 2017, Secretary General of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. Years before, in 2011, he received the award for good practices in public administration, in relation to the Shared Services of the University of Lisbon.

The Central Directorate of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP) confirmed in a statement that suspicions of active and passive corruption, economic participation in businesses and forgery of documents are being investigated.

According to the DCIAP statement, “events related to the award, by direct agreement, of a contract for the provision of services entered into between public administration bodies and a commercial company” are at stake.

Searches are carried out in five different locations, covering commercial companies, accounting firms, private households and government agencies. The proceedings take place in the regions of Lisbon, Coimbra, Porto and Braga.

In addition to raiding the offices of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the National Anti-Corruption Unit of the PJ also carries out home raids.

On the ground there are elements of the National Anti-Corruption Unit of the PJ.