In a statement, the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) revealed that the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DCIAP) received a complaint targeting the judge Ivo Rosa. The complaint, received on February 16, 2021, led to the decision to open an investigation.
The statement explained that the inquiry initially took place at the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Regional Attorney General in Lisbon. After Ivo Rosa’s promotion to Appellate Judge, the case proceeded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Supreme Court of Justice.
“No telephone interceptions were conducted during this investigation,” assured the MP, emphasizing that all actions respected legally enshrined rights, freedoms, and guarantees, and were subject to prior judicial authorization or validated by a judge whenever required by law.
“In this investigation, the Public Prosecutor’s Office was assisted by the Judiciary Police. Once collected, the evidence required analysis. Upon completion, the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Supreme Court of Justice decided on March 20, 2024, to dismiss the investigation,” the statement added.
Last week, CNN/TVI reported that Ivo Rosa was the subject of a criminal investigation while serving as an investigating judge at the Criminal Investigation Court, based on an anonymous tip-off received by the DCIAP and the Judiciary Police (PJ).
During this investigation, the Public Prosecutor reportedly accessed the invoices of the then-investigating judge, his mobile phone location, and bank accounts, according to CNN/TVI.
The criminal process was initiated at the beginning of 2021, months before Judge Ivo Rosa announced the instructional decision in the Operation Marquês case in April of that year.
In that decision, the judge dropped most charges in the Public Prosecutor’s indictment, a decision later overturned by the Lisbon Court of Appeal.
CNN/TVI stated that the allegations against Ivo Rosa included suspicion of crimes such as corruption, embezzlement, and money laundering, which the MP’s statement did not confirm.
On October 2, the Manifesto dos 50 demanded clarification from the MP about the investigation, labeling it as “extremely serious”.
In a statement, this civic movement, founded in May 2024, described it as an “attempt at criminal persecution” and deemed it “essential for the Public Prosecutor’s Office to clarify the facts reported and the criteria used for launching such investigations”.
