“The Polícia Judiciária (PJ) executed an out-of-court arrest warrant for the defendant, issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office,” the released statement reads.
The information reveals that the arrest occurred as part of an investigation overseen by the DIAP of Madeira, with the suspect “strongly indicated for committing crimes of fraud by means of livelihood.”
The statement also notes that since March 2025, the man, residing in the Greater Lisbon area, “telephoned several individuals residing in Madeira, primarily owners or managers of commercial establishments in the restaurant and/or hotel sector, falsely presenting himself as an employee of the Empresa de Eletricidade da Madeira.”
According to the statement, the phone calls almost always took place “during the public opening hours of the aforementioned establishments and at meal times.”
The defendant convinced the victims that they owed debts to Madeira’s electricity supplier and “had to pay immediately under threat of immediate service interruption,” with the amounts “reaching several thousand euros.”
According to the Public Prosecutor, these individuals were “induced by the defendant to make payments in favor of entities and references” indicated by the defendant, with the amounts “credited to payment accounts held and controlled by him, domiciled abroad, to avoid detection and identification.”
“Despite initially separate inquiries being initiated, the described criminal phenomenon was timely detected, leading the DIAP of Funchal to organize a single process,” the document states.
It adds that documentation obtained from credit institutions and payment service providers “allowed the identification of the defendant as the beneficiary of the unduly made payments from the victims and also promoted the interception of the mobile phone used by the defendant to contact the victims.”
The defendant will face an initial judicial interrogation “to strengthen his coercive status, given the risk of continued criminal activity.”
