Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro has denied allegations of concealing bank accounts following reports that he had hidden several accounts from the Constitutional Court. “This is false. Over the past 25 years, I have consistently declared my bank accounts, particularly to the Constitutional Court, in accordance with the necessary declaration requirements,” Montenegro stated to journalists in Valpaços.
He further clarified, “It’s true that I was asked for additional clarifications following a news report, and those clarifications were provided, closing the matter. To say that someone who provides clarifications is hiding bank accounts is simply misleading. We’re talking about three checking accounts that have been a part of my life — one for 37 years, another for 26 years, and another for 16 years. It’s just misrepresenting the nature of the provided clarifications.”
Montenegro emphasized, “I even informed the Public Prosecutor’s Office about their balances, and I have nothing to hide.” He reiterated that he has not hidden any account and noted that he is the only Portuguese politician to have publicly disclosed his income declarations over the past 15 years.
“Everyone knows how much I earned in the past 15 years, and this money was either spent or saved. The accounts in question hold this money — money earned through work, both mine and my family’s. I am very comfortable with this,” he stressed.
The initial report claimed that Montenegro had hidden several bank accounts from the Constitutional Court and that both the Court and the Attorney General’s Office confirmed that the Public Prosecutor requested additional clarifications from the Prime Minister regarding his income declaration, which he provided on April 7.
The Prime Minister also highlighted a perceived emphasis on scrutinizing him and his Social Democratic Party (PSD) compared to other political figures and parties. “Why is it only the Prime Minister and the PSD who are subjected to such scrutiny and association? I want all Portuguese people to understand this clearly: they can trust the Prime Minister, the PSD, and the AD. We will provide all necessary information so that the conditions for leadership, teams, and programs can be assessed for future work to benefit everyone’s lives,” he stated.
Montenegro appealed to the media to exercise discernment, pointing out that “all media outlets titled that a company was financing the PSD” the previous day. “Apparently, there are six relatives of a person with a company who made donations, but that’s not what was reported in your headlines. […] I believe there needs to be accuracy. Let me say that I think the media also has a responsibility to keep political debate clean, transparent, and untarnished by the distortion of news, which can then influence the political will of the Portuguese people,” he asserted.
Regarding the Public Prosecutor’s request for further clarifications, Montenegro responded, “We are always ready to provide additional clarifications. The Public Prosecutor reads newspapers and saw a report that happened to be unfounded. […] The report claimed I used multiple accounts to pay for a particular apartment purchase. That is false. I used only one account.”
He continued, “Nonetheless, the Public Prosecutor read the report, inquired, and I responded. There is nothing unusual about this because it happens to me and to politicians from other parties. However, reports seem to focus only on me.”
“We are in a pre-election period where everything is subject to scrutiny”
When questioned about the National Electoral Commission, Montenegro noted that “most of the complaints filed have been dismissed.”
The National Electoral Commission (CNE) decided to forward a complaint from the Socialist Party against the Ministry of Finance to the Public Prosecutor, citing “indications of a breach of the duties of neutrality and impartiality”.
Lusa | 10:53 – 12/04/2025
“As far as I know, neither any government member nor any political party has been accused of any misconduct, but we know that we are in a pre-election period where everything is subject to scrutiny. We are ready to respond to any allegations made against us, and when notified of these allegations, we will provide our responses,” he stressed.
