A member of the Chega party, Filipe Melo, has been accused by a party official of failing to repay three personal loans totaling 6,500 euros. The accusation was made by Joaquim Pinto do Vale, president of the Barcelos branch of Chega, who has initiated a civil lawsuit.
The loans were granted by Pinto do Vale to Filipe Melo between April 2023 and June 2024, following the deputy’s request for financial assistance due to “economic difficulties.”
The lawsuit, accessed by a local newspaper, states that the first loan of two thousand euros was made on April 11, 2023, at Melo’s request.
Months later, on August 25, 2023, Melo received an additional 2,500 euros from Pinto do Vale. The final loan occurred nearly a year later, on June 28, when another two thousand euros were given.
“At the request of the Defendant [Filipe Melo], the Plaintiff [Pinto Vale], on June 28, 2024, asked Júlia Leal to make a cash deposit into the defendant’s account for 2,000 euros,” the lawsuit states.
The total debt stands at 6,500 euros, an amount that would have been higher if the municipal deputy of Barcelos had not refused to lend an additional 2,500 euros.
According to the lawsuit, Filipe Melo explained that “the amounts requested as a loan were intended to cover expenses due to the economic difficulties he was facing” and assured that “all the borrowed amounts would be repaid by the end of December 2024, once he received the Christmas allowance.”
However, “this did not happen,” and Pinto do Vale formally demanded repayment. As the loans remained unpaid, the Barcelos branch president filed a civil lawsuit in June at the Local Civil Court of Braga, confirmed by lawyer Firmino Lopes da Silva.
The deputy of Chega has a history of financial issues, having admitted to the magazine Visão in 2022 that he had “pending debts” totaling approximately 120,000 euros.
There has also been a record of 25,000 euros in debts related to tolls, about 800 euros in unpaid fees for analyses and consultations at the Private Hospital of Braga, and around 60,000 euros in mortgage loans.
Filipe Melo has also been involved in controversies in the Assembly of the Republic. Last week, during a joint hearing of the Culture, Communication, Youth and Sports and the Budget, Finance and Public Administration Committees, the deputy told colleague Eva Cruzeiro to go to “her land” during her speech.
“I am in my land, esteemed deputy, this is our land,” Cruzeiro replied.
Earlier, in September, Socialist Party (PS) deputy Isabel Moreira filed a complaint against Filipe Melo for “allegedly inappropriate and offensive behavior” while he was serving as the deputy secretary of the board.
During a plenary session, the Chega deputy “allegedly directed disrespectful gestures at her, notably blowing kisses and making signals to quiet her, in a purported attempt to silence her.”
