Another suspect in a corruption and fraud case involving the acquisition of IT systems by universities and public schools, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), was arrested at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon on Saturday.
The Polícia Judiciária (PJ) reported that “the arrest took place upon the suspect’s arrival in Portugal”, in a statement sent to the newsrooms.
The individual will now appear before judicial authorities at the Tribunal de Instrução Criminal do Porto for a preliminary judicial hearing and determination of preventive measures on Monday.
It is noted that two of the six suspects previously detained in the ‘Operation Nexus’ were held in preventive custody, according to a judicial source on Friday.
Three other defendants were suspended from their duties and prohibited from contacting each other, and one was released after posting bail.
These defendants were arrested on Wednesday by the PJ and were brought to the Tribunal de Instrução Criminal do Porto on the same day, but none of them gave statements.
Among the previously detained, four are employees of a Maia-based technology company, one is an employee of a concessionary company, and one is a public official.
The defendants are charged with crimes of subsidy fraud, active and passive corruption, active and passive corruption in the private sector, economic participation in business, unjust enrichment, document forgery, and abuse of power.
According to the PJ, they are suspected of being involved in a “criminal scheme, characterized by organization and systematization, to illicitly obtain privileged information in public and private procurement procedures, through the provision of material and non-material advantages to employees of contracting entities”, undermining market rules and proper fund administration.
“The scheme also reportedly involved producers/importers of IT products and solutions, significantly impacting the market, boosting profit margins throughout the supply chain,” the police force added.
A total of 20 million euros in contracts are in question, with 4.6 million seized by the PJ’s Asset Recovery Office – North to cover the estimated damages.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office disclosed that the investigation is linked to “projects for acquiring IT systems by a university and public secondary schools, funded by the PRR”.
The process was initiated following reports of “serious irregularities in public procurement procedures for IT and cybersecurity materials by a northern public higher education institution, under projects financed by the PRR”, noted the PJ.
Although the police didn’t specify the institution involved, the University of Porto acknowledged being searched in a cartel-related acquisition process for IT materials, of which it “was a victim,” in a statement sent to Lusa.
According to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the questioned contracts were awarded to “a national business group and related companies engaged in the import, export, promotion, and marketing of IT hardware and software”.
