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Judge remands Portuguese ex-PM in custody in fraud case
A Portuguese judge on Monday (Nov 24) ordered former Socialist prime minister Jose Socrates to be remanded in custody on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering.
LISBON: A Portuguese judge on Monday (Nov 24) ordered former Socialist prime minister Jose Socrates to be remanded in custody on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering.
Socrates, 57, has been held in detention since his shock arrest on Friday at Lisbon airport after arriving on a flight from Paris. After lengthy questioning on Monday in connection with the corruption probe, a judge decided that the ex-premier should be kept in preventative detention. Socrates was placed under formal investigation "for tax evasion, corruption and money laundering", according to the judge's statement read out to reporters.
The ex-premier's attorney, Joao Araujo, called the decision "deeply unjust and unjustified" and vowed to appeal. His personal chauffeur Joao Perna and businessman Carlos Santos were also held in custody. Luis Montenegro, parliamentary leader of the ruling Social Democrats (PSD) said that the country's image had been tarnished "both internally and abroad by what has gone on in recent days."
The centre-right government has remained discreet about the case. Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said on Sunday it "pertains to the law and not politics," adding "Portugal has strong institutions that work."
Socrates' arrest was the latest bombshell in Portuguese politics, coming hard on the heels of another scandal that cost interior minister Miguel Macedo his job. A series of searches have been carried out at businesses and Socrates' residence in Lisbon.
According to Portuguese media reports, state-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depositos raised the alarm. Investigators have been looking into transfers involving the former Socialist leader's account in comparison with earnings he has reported to tax authorities.
Particular attention is said to have been given to an apartment in Paris estimated at nearly €3 million (US$3.7 million). Socrates lived there in 2012 while studying philosophy in the French capital. "I have no money or accounts abroad. I have always lived off the income from my own job," Socrates assured in July, when he was questioned by the press over another money laundering case.
The case is certainly an unwelcome sideshow for Lisbon mayor Antonio Costa, a former interior minister under Socrates and the Socialist party's new secretary general. So far Costa has refused to distance himself from Socrates, saying that the Socialist party "does not adopt Stalinist practices of getting rid of photos" of former leaders.
A colourful character, Socrates announced his resignation as prime minister in March 2011, after parliament rejected an austerity budget. Shortly afterwards the country received a €78 billion bailout package from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in exchange for a rigorous programme of fiscal discipline which came to an end in May. Socrates was prime minister between 2005 and 2011, with his tenure particularly marked by the financial crisis that badly hit the country.
- AFP/nd
Portugal ex-PM Jose Socrates to be held amid corruption probe
25 November 2014 Last updated at 00:47 GMT
The decision to detain Jose Socrates sent shockwaves through Portuguese politics
The decision to detain Jose Socrates sent shockwaves through Portuguese politics
Portugal's former centre-left prime minister, Jose Socrates, has been remanded in custody on preliminary charges of corruption and tax fraud.
Mr Socrates, 57, was detained on his return from Paris on Friday and has already spent three nights in jail.
The judge delivered the decision after investigators looked into suspicious money transfers and banking operations.
Mr Socrates, who denies any wrongdoing, is being investigated alongside his driver, a close friend, and a lawyer.
The former prime minister was in office from 2005 to 2011. His lawyer, Joao Araujo, told reporters on Monday that his client would appeal against the decision.
Under the Portuguese system, formal charges only come at the end of an investigation which could last up to eight months, says the BBC's Alison Roberts in Lisbon.
Portuguese politics was already reeling after the resignation of Interior Minister Miguel Macedo in the wake of a separate corruption inquiry linked to the allocation of residence permits.
Portugal in shock - by Alison Roberts, BBC News, Lisbon
Jose Socrates' detention has sent shockwaves through the political system. Reports purporting to provide details of the investigation - which is covered by judicial secrecy - have swirled since Friday night, when the news broke. They focus on Mr Socrates' supposedly lavish lifestyle in Paris, where he moved after stepping down in 2011.
In past interviews, he has denied anything untoward about his finances.
Antonio Costa, elected Socialist leader on Saturday, said everyone was in shock over Mr Socrates' detention
His detention - on arrival at Lisbon airport, rather than at his flat, and with photographers present - prompted some prominent Socialists to argue it was to divert attention from suspicions of corruption in the right-of-centre government's "golden visa" programme, which fast-tracks residence for foreign investors.
The Socialists' newly elected leader, Antonio Costa, a minister under Mr Socrates, was until now expected to sweep to victory in next year's general election following years of austerity. He is conscious of the perils of the situation.
Because the case surrounding Mr Socrates comes under judicial secrecy, few details have been confirmed.
It is unclear whether the inquiry relates to his time in office. However, Portuguese media has reported allegations that his driver Joao Perna made a number of trips transporting cash to Paris, where Mr Socrates has been working in a new role at a pharmaceutical company.
Current Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho gave his backing to the country's "strong institutions"
One of Mr Socrates' long-time friends, Carlos Santos Silva, is being questioned along with lawyer Goncalo Trindade Ferreira.
Two of the suspects are also being held on remand, while a fourth has been barred from foreign travel.
Centre-right Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said the case involved law rather than politics, adding that "Portugal has strong institutions that work".
But the investigation has rocked Mr Socrates' Socialists, now led by Lisbon Mayor Antonio Costa who was elected as secretary-general of the party on Saturday.
Mr Socrates resigned in 2011 in the midst of Portugal's mounting debt crisis. The Socialists are currently leading in opinion polls and Mr Costa said on Saturday that "we mustn't let personal feelings of solidarity and friendship impede the political action of the (party)".
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