Three of the defendants have been suspended from their duties and are prohibited from contacting each other, while another was released after posting bail, according to an unnamed source.
The defendants were detained on Wednesday by the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) and were brought before the Porto Criminal Instruction Court the same day, but none of them made any statements.
Among the six detainees, four are employees of a technology company in Maia, one works for a concessionaire, and one is a public employee.
The charges against the defendants include fraud in obtaining subsidies, active and passive corruption, active and passive corruption in the private sector, economic participation in business, undue receipt of benefits, document forgery, and abuse of power.
The PJ states that the suspects are believed to be part of an “organized and systemic criminal scheme to illegally obtain privileged information in public and private contracting procedures, through the provision of patrimonial and non-patrimonial advantages to employees of contracting entities,” undermining market rules and proper fund administration.
“The scheme allegedly involves producers/importers of IT products and solutions, who have a significant market influence, enhancing profit margins throughout the supply chain,” added the police force.
The issue involves contracts worth at least 20 million euros, with 4.6 million euros seized by the PJ’s Asset Recovery Office – North to cover estimated damages.
According to a statement, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office notes that the investigation concerns “projects intended for the acquisition of IT systems by a university and public high schools, as part of projects funded by the PRR.”
The investigation was launched following reports to authorities of “serious irregularities in the public procurement of IT and cybersecurity equipment by a public higher education institution in the North, under projects funded by the PRR,” according to the PJ.
The police do not specify the institution involved, but in a statement to Lusa, the University of Porto confirmed being searched in a cartelization case concerning the acquisition of IT equipment, from which it claimed to be a “victim.”
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office indicates that the contracts under suspicion are awarded to “a national business group and related companies, engaged in the import, export, promotion, and sale of IT ‘hardware’ [parts] and ‘software’ [programs].”
