The Minister of Agriculture, José Manuel Fernandes, refused on Monday to comment on the investigation by the Judiciary Police (PJ) into the Secretary of State for Agriculture, João Moura, over suspicions of corruption and money laundering.
Speaking to journalists in Sernancelhe, Viseu, José Manuel Fernandes remarked only: “The Prime Minister has already commented on this, I have no further comment.”
Moments earlier, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, when asked about the news reported by Correio da Manhã, stated he had “no information” regarding the case.
When pressed about whether the involved official was under investigation, Montenegro responded: “I don’t know. We have no information on that. We want the institutions to function properly. If there is something to be investigated, let it be investigated.”
He further noted: “We cannot operate in a system where an anonymous complaint leads to a process, and then the news becomes that there is an ongoing process, rendering the person in question unable to fulfill their role. That’s not a system.”
With a sense of responsibility, he added: “We are monitoring the situation. Honestly, I know nothing about it, so I cannot provide further details.”
João Moura is under investigation by the PJ concerning money transactions among his companies
It should be noted that the Secretary of State for Agriculture, João Moura, is being investigated by the Judiciary Police (PJ) for suspected corruption and money laundering through alleged financial transactions between his companies.
Correio da Manhã reports that the suspicions involve business dealings of João Moura’s companies. Recently, the PJ reportedly requested information from Golegã City Hall regarding the politician’s companies. In this municipality in the district of Santarém, one of the Secretary of State’s firms, Quadradoaometro, owns a luxury property, into which approximately 600,000 euros have been invested.
According to the newspaper, in his earnings declarations submitted to the Transparency Entity (EpT) while serving as Secretary of State for Agriculture, João Moura declared his partnership in two companies: Quadradoaometro and Metric Memory. Both companies list the politician and his wife as partners, each holding a 50% share.
João Moura was associated with João Gama Leão, one of Novo Banco’s (NB) major debtors, with whom he worked at Prebuild Group, where he was a shareholder of an offshore company linked to Prebuild.
The connection between the current Secretary of State for Agriculture, Gama Leão, and the offshore company Legomix Trading Limited, based in Malta, was highlighted during Gama Leão’s parliamentary hearing in May 2017 by PSD deputy Hugo Carneiro.
Regarding João Moura’s companies, Quadradoaometro operates as an engineering firm, while Metric Memory has diverse interests, including rural tourism, tourist activities, agricultural and animal ventures, as well as importing and exporting food products, beverages, textiles, clothing, footwear, and accessories. It also engages in restaurant activities and offers business and management consulting.
The Judiciary Police are investigating the Secretary of State for Agriculture, João Moura, over suspicions of corruption and money laundering related to business dealings of his companies.
