During his testimony in the Operação Marquês trial, André Figueiredo explained to the court that he met the former Prime Minister of Portugal through the Socialist Party (PS), where he held a leadership role during José Sócrates’ tenure. Figueiredo maintained both personal and professional relationships with Sócrates after his time at São Bento.
In 2013, Figueiredo was involved in promoting Sócrates’ book ‘A Confiança no Mundo’, describing himself as the “chief organizer” of various presentation events. He stated that the book launch was part of a communication strategy intending to support José Sócrates’ candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic.
During one of the many wiretapped phone calls played in court, José Sócrates asked his friend, “Is that operation already underway?”
The “operation,” according to Figueiredo, did not pertain to any strategy to purchase thousands of book copies—a detail he claimed to be unaware of until questioned by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. It referred instead to contacts with PS leaders to “set up the machine” for collecting signatures in support of the candidacy.
The book launch, along with the television program he had on RTP at the time, served as a type of launchpad for this goal. Figueiredo focused on ensuring successful presentation sessions.
“Failures in mobilizing and publicizing events with José Sócrates as the main figure would be catastrophic for the start of anything,” he emphasized, while referring to a holiday card sent via email to around 50,000 contacts. Some contacts were provided by Carlos Santos Silva, justifying a planned but ultimately unheld meeting with the businessman. Figueiredo stated he knew little about Silva despite occasional interactions.
Faced with several wiretaps of phone conversations with Sócrates, Figueiredo was compelled to clarify various terms employed by the former Prime Minister, such as when Sócrates mentioned “that is to clog up,” referring, allegedly, to the registrations for the book sessions, or “to the letter F,” indicating Fernanda Câncio, which led the judges to question the enigmatic nature of the discussions.
“I believe we were always very cautious. Even during the government tenure, we didn’t have very open political strategy conversations over the phone. We were often warned—not by Justice—about the strong interest in intercepting the core of PS and São Bento. The Presidency issue was even more so,” he explained.
Figueiredo was further questioned by prosecutors about the involvement of other authors in composing the book. He admitted José Sócrates shared chapters to gather contributions, even delivering manuscripts to fellow socialist deputies in the Assembly of the Republic and other personalities, including Santos Silva.
On his role in book purchases, Figueiredo confirmed having bought dozens of books, but solely in the context of presentation sessions and at the request of individuals who wanted signed copies. He insisted he was unaware of Sócrates’ concern with sales figures.
For the witness, promoting José Sócrates’ image was more about the success of the presentations rather than sales numbers.
Regarding journalist Fernanda Câncio, with whom José Sócrates had a close relationship for several years, the mention “to F” appeared during a phone conversation replayed during the session. According to Figueiredo, the former Prime Minister requested urgency in sending invitations to the list provided by Câncio.
Hours later, the journalist refuted this version in court, asserting she was never involved in the book’s promotion or comment solicitation.
In response to questions from the panel of judges and Public Prosecutors, Fernanda Câncio refrained from defining the nature of her relationship with José Sócrates, only stating they were close but never shared a home or finances.
Regarding shared vacations, often with Santos Silva and his wife, the journalist confirmed the destinations and explained she assumed, having been invited by the former Prime Minister, that he bore the expenses.
When it came to other details, she said she could not remember, given it had been over 10 years, but expressed surprise when in 2014 it was reported that the apartment Sócrates lived in in Paris was owned by Santos Silva.
“I suppose there is a wiretap (…). I called José Sócrates, asked exactly about this, and expressed my surprise,” the journalist stated.
In the Operação Marquês case, José Sócrates, 67, is charged with 22 crimes, including three of corruption, for allegedly receiving money to benefit the Lena Group, the Espírito Santo Group (GES), and the Algarve resort Vale do Lobo in various matters.
The case involves a total of 21 defendants, who generally have denied committing the 117 charged economic-financial crimes.
The trial has been ongoing at the Lisbon Central Criminal Court since July 3.
[Updated at 5:20 PM]
