“What I can assure is that I have an absolutely clear conscience because I respected the letter and the spirit of the law and I am very confident that this accusation will follow the course of all other complaints that, over the 12 years I served my community, ended in dismissal,” he stated to Lusa agency.
First elected in 2013 by the Socialist Party (PS) as the president of the Vila Real City Council, Rui Santos is now a member of the Assembly of the Republic and president of the Municipal Assembly of Vila Real.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has charged Rui Santos with two counts of misconduct and two counts of abuse of power, allegedly for using the municipal company Vila Real Social for purposes “unrelated to the public interest.”
The Regional Department of Investigation and Penal Action of Porto identified the defendant as suspect for having “placed or ordered to place” two individuals as heads of this company “to satisfy his interests and those of his political ambitions and party at the municipal level to which he belonged.”
These two individuals, according to the prosecution, are also charged in this case with crimes of misconduct. The case involves a total of six defendants accused of harming the state’s financial interests in the scope of their public duties.
Rui Santos also found it “strange” that he had not been notified of this charge, “which first reached the media.”
“Once again, the secrecy of justice is clearly violated,” he remarked.
When asked if he will request the opening of the instruction, the former mayor reiterated that he is unfamiliar with the process and that his lawyers “will analyze the accusation and act according to what they deem appropriate.”
“Now, I want to reaffirm my absolute tranquility and my conviction that I have always complied with the spirit and the letter of the law,” he emphasized, noting that he is being accused of misconduct in a “clearly administrative process.”
The investigation dates back to 2022, with searches in 2023 at the municipal company and city council, and also addressed the election of the then-chairman of the board of directors of Vila Real Social.
