The weekend was not kind to Finance Minister Mário Centeno, despite recent effusive praise from IMF director Christine Lagarde for his role in helping turn Portugal’s fortunes around (click here).
Police descended on the finance ministry on Friday, ostensibly looking for evidence that they have a case for “receipt of undue advantage”.
The searches appear to involve a story which broke earlier this month, involving Centeno receiving “free tickets” to the presidential box for a Benfica game over a year ago, and the sons of Benfica’s president Luís Filipe Vieira receiving a much-needed rates waiver on a building they were trying to sell (click here).
For now, the bottom line is that there are no arguidos in this ‘case’ (if it even is a case).
Various newspapers have highlighted the searches, using photographs of Centeno looking uncertain, but this is so far a story that seems larded with innuendo, and possibly nothing more.
According to publications in the Cofina group (Correio da Manhã, Sábado), the Public Ministry wants to know if Vieira “merely asked for some help to speed along a rates exemption for his son’s business, or whether the incident could involve crimes”.
CM today suggests Centeno will fall on his sword if it comes to the point that he is cited as an ‘arguido’ (official suspect).
Prime minister António Costa is described as having discussed this situation with his financial number one, but the inference is that this whole upset could be a storm whipped up in a political teacup.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
