Former Socialist minister Armando Vara was detained by the Public Security Police (PSP) on Monday night to serve the remaining two and a half years of his prison sentence in the Face Oculta and Operação Marquês cases.
The detainee, also a former bank administrator, was taken by PSP from Odivelas to the Lisbon Prison Establishment. Armando Vara, 71, is expected to be transferred in the coming days to another facility, either Carregueira or Évora.
Despite being detained to serve the remaining sentence, he is expected to be released earlier, potentially in about eight months, after serving two-thirds of his sentence, even if not granted parole.
Vara was sentenced to five and a half years in prison in the Face Oculta case for three counts of influence peddling and two years in one of the cases extracted from Operação Marquês.
Recently, the septuagenarian, who had been released from Évora Prison in October 2021 due to partial pardon measures taken during the Covid-19 pandemic, lost his last attempt to avoid returning to prison.
Pardon but only during the pandemic
In October, the Constitutional Court rejected Armando Vara’s appeal against the decision to revoke the pardon previously granted to him.
The Constitutional Court’s decision from September 16 denied the ex-official’s defense appeal. According to a February ruling, Vara’s argument—that the partial pardon removing two years from his five-year sentence should remain after a new cumulative sentence of five years and six months was decided—was not valid.
The defense had argued that with the partial pardon, only six months of prison remained, seeking to serve it under house arrest. However, the Supreme Court ruled that the former minister still has two years, five months, and 27 days of prison to serve, excluding him from the pardon due to a money laundering conviction.
The pardon law explicitly excluded those convicted of money laundering. A decision from the Prison Execution Court could allow for parole in the future or alter the type of imprisonment, possibly enabling house arrest or other models.
The TC’s ruling also mandates that Armando Vara pay legal costs amounting to 1,530 euros.
Influence Peddling and Money Laundering
In May 2024, the Supreme Court increased Armando Vara’s sentence to five years and six months in a consolidation of penalties for the Face Oculta and Operação Marquês cases. Vara had previously been released from Évora Prison in October 2021 after serving about three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic measures. In July 2021, he received a two-year sentence for money laundering connected to Operação Marquês.
The retired former minister had a restaurant in his hometown of Vinhais, Trás-os-Montes, which he has since put up for sale, and is currently focused on agriculture.
Besides the convictions, Vara is also a defendant in the main case of Operação Marquês. The corruption charge may expire next year before the trial concludes, but it remains to be seen if the second charge of money laundering will be similarly affected.
