A mega police operation is said to be underway in various town halls today. The focus is ‘suspicion of corruption in the acquisition of Christmas lights’.
Details coming through this far are sketchy. The information has emanated from Correio da Manhã, and is now being picked up by other news outlets.
According to CM, at least 10 municipalities are in the sights of the PJ criminal police: Tavira, in the Algarve, Lisbon, Lamego, Maia, Figueira da Foz, Viseu, Trofa, Póvoa de Varzim, Ovar and Santa Maria Feira.
The searches are being described as “one of the largest ever PJ operations”.
There is no sense yet of the amounts of money thought to be involved (see update below), but SIC Notícias reports that crimes on the docket include corruption and economic participation in business and public hiring.
UPDATES: Four people have so far been arrested.
The money involved appears to be around €8 million.
In a communiqué, the PJ writes that its officers effected 26 searches in homes and offices in various parts of the country.
The offices were both of private companies and public entities.
Operation Lúmen (light), as this has been called, culminated with the detention of one director and one employee of a private company, the president of a private association and one public official (civil servant).
At issue, says the PJ statement, are the crimes of active and passive corruption, economic participation in business, abuse of power and criminal association related to the “supply and installation of festive lights”.
The statement adds that investigations carried out “revealed the existence of an organised and systemic criminal scheme designed to undermine public procurement procedures. Through the illegal acquisition of inside information in exchange for financial benefits granted to members of contracting authorities, in breach of the rules of transparency, equality and market competition, contracts worth up to €8 million were secured for the targeted company.”
source material: SIC Notícias
