The defense claims that the Prosecutor’s Office cannot prosecute a crime that was investigated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. The case will have caused a loss of 80 million to the Portuguese State.
The lawyer of the Rockfont company, accused in a case of intra-community VAT fraud, claimed the annulment of the trial that began this Thursday in Lisbon, considering that “the Prosecutor’s Office cannot intervene in this case on behalf of the European Prosecutor’s Office.”
Carlos Caneja Amorim alleged procedural nullity in the scope of the preliminary issues that precede the beginning of this first trial in Portugal of an important investigation carried out by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) that led to the constitution of 26 defendants: 11 people and 15 companies.
Justifying that the Constitution determines that the Portuguese Public Ministry (MP) can only represent the Portuguese State and “not interests other than those of the European Union”, the lawyer questioned the legitimacy of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in bringing this case to trial before a Portuguese court.
“This must necessarily reach the Constitutional Court“Declared Carlos Caneja Amorim, announcing that he will present a precautionary measure before that higher court.
The alleged incompetence of the Portuguese court to try this case was also raised in the session by another defense lawyer, and prosecutor Ana Margarida Ferreira dos Santos refuted that position, recalling that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office represents all EU Member States, including Portugal. .
The presiding judge of the group, Catarina Caramelo Cortez Silva, decided to continue the trial despite the alleged annulments, so now everything will be resolved in the defenses’ appeals before the higher courts.
The morning session of the trial also served to identify the 13 defendants present in the trial, three of whom are in preventive detention: Prathkounh Lavivong, Filipe Lopes Fernandes and Max Cardoso.
Few defendants expressed their intention to give statements in the initial phase of the trial, and the hearing was scheduled to resume this Thursday afternoon at the Central Criminal Court in Lisbon.
Intra-community VAT fraud caused a loss of 80 million euros in Portugalindicates the EPPO investigation with the code name “Admiral”. However, the estimated losses for the European Union (EU) and for the national budgets of EU countries affected by fraud could amount to €2.9 billion.
The accused – nine Portuguese and two French – They are accused of creating and operating a criminal associationdedicated to the sale of electronic items in the European market, exempt from paying VAT. The charges include several crimes of qualified tax fraud, money laundering, active and passive corruption in the private sector and falsification of documents. The alleged events will have occurred between 2016 and November 2022.
The proceedings against one of the defendants have since been stayed, subject to compliance with certain obligations, and will continue on separate terms. According to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the defendants may face prison sentences of up to eight years for each of the crimes of qualified tax fraud, in addition to being responsible for crimes of money laundering, active and passive corruption in the private sector and falsification of documents. . Accused companies are subject to fines or dissolution.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is an independent entity. It is responsible for carrying out the prosecution, in investigation and trial, of crimes that harm the financial interests of the EU.
Source: Observadora
