“One thing is certain: all the actions I took while performing my duties were for the benefit of the city of Lisbon. I take solace in the fact that I have never been held responsible for any actions taken for personal gain or for receiving any benefits,” stated Manuel Salgado in a written response.
Manuel Salgado, who served as the Urban Planning Councilor in Lisbon from 2007 to 2019, has been charged by the Public Prosecutor’s Office on May 5 with a crime of misconduct and another of violating urban planning rules. These charges relate to the alleged violation of approximately 15 urban planning regulations, in collaboration with a former municipal director, during the authorization of the expansion of two restaurants to create SUD Lisboa, which opened in 2016 on Avenida de Brasília.
The prosecution claims that the objective was to fulfill the economic interests of the space’s concessionaires and recover the debts these entities owed to the Lisbon City Council and the Lisbon Tourism Association, to the detriment of the “public purposes” established in Lisbon’s Municipal Master Plan.
“I will request the opening of an inquiry, with the firm conviction that this process, like the others that may follow, will have the same outcome as previous ones – filing, no indictment, or, ultimately, acquittal,” responded Manuel Salgado.
The architect, who was elected under the administrations of António Costa and Fernando Medina (PS), referred to cases regarding the licensing of CUF Tejo, which was filed in 2023, and projects in Praça das Flores, from which he was recently acquitted.
The inquiry stage is optional, during which a judge assesses whether a prosecution has sufficient grounds to proceed to trial.
In the case of SUD Lisboa, there is an ongoing legal action in the Administrative Court of Lisbon to decide on the legal validity of the project’s approval.
“In this context, the uncertainty surrounding any alleged legal violations in the administrative forum makes the Public Prosecutor’s conclusion that I committed crimes of violating urban planning norms and misconduct even more peculiar and hasty,” highlighted Manuel Salgado.
For João Medeiros, Salgado’s lawyer, the case should be suspended until a decision is reached in the administrative jurisdiction.
Alongside Manuel Salgado, a former municipal director is also a defendant in this case, facing similar charges of misconduct and violating urban planning rules.
