The Court of Appeal of Guimarães has rejected the appeal from the Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the acquittal of former Caminha Mayor Miguel Alves and businesswoman Manuela Sousa on charges of misconduct.
In the ruling dated Thursday, which Lusa accessed today, the judges of the Court of Appeal of Guimarães dismissed all claims of the Public Prosecutor’s appeal, upholding the acquittal of the former mayor of the district of Viana do Castelo. In 2022, he resigned from his position as Deputy Secretary of State to the then Prime Minister António Costa after learning of the charges.
Manuela Sousa was also accused in this case of misconduct, allegedly committed in the hiring of communication advisory services for the municipality to companies owned by the businesswoman “without any public procurement procedure,” according to the Public Prosecutor’s accusation.
On November 15, 2024, the Court of Viana do Castelo acquitted Miguel Alves and Manuela Sousa again of the misconduct charge, after correcting a “detail” in the initial decision rendered in February.
A Public Prosecutor’s appeal in late September 2024 led the Court of Appeal of Guimarães to annul the initial ruling of the Court of Viana do Castelo, which had acquitted the former mayor and the businesswoman on February 15.
The appellate judges instructed the first instance to correct a nullity and issue a new decision.
The court found no need to repeat the presentation of evidence and corrected the nullity highlighted by the Court of Appeal of Guimarães. It ruled as unproven a point of the accusation concerning fees charged (3,000 euros + VAT) by one of Manuela Sousa’s companies to the city council for communication advisory services provided in July 2014.
