The Procuradoria-Geral Regional do Porto announced today on its website that four defendants have been charged with crimes related to subsidy or grant fraud, aggravated tax fraud, and money laundering.
The Tribunal da Feira, in a decision dated September 22, sentenced one individual to eight years in prison, while two others received seven-year sentences each.
Additionally, one female defendant received a five-year prison sentence, suspended conditionally upon the repayment of outstanding amounts to the state.
The court also upheld a civil compensation claim filed by the Public Ministry on behalf of the Tax Authority, ordering the defendants to pay the state 836,000 euros.
Furthermore, according to the Procuradoria, the court mandated the defendants to repay the total benefit gained from their criminal activities, amounting to 5.5 million euros.
The two companies involved were also found guilty of the same crimes, facing fines and dissolution penalties.
The defendants were accused of exploiting companies under their management to apply for community project funds with the intent of diverting these funds for personal gain and that of their companies.
Investigations revealed that the defendants orchestrated a scheme that included fabricating services or acquiring goods and equipment supposedly intended to support the economic activities of the beneficiary companies.
This scheme, highlighted by the Procuradoria, relied on the issuance of false invoices and money circulation that backed their payment requests submitted to IAPMEI.
“In addition, by recording this fictitious invoicing, the beneficiary companies also deducted the VAT value noted on these invoices, obtaining a corresponding refund from the Tax Authority,” the statement added.
