The Criminal Section judges of the Évora Court of Appeal have overturned a previous ruling, absolving Luís Vitorino and representatives of the companies ASCOP and FLOPONOR of the charges against them. The decision was made during a conference on Wednesday and reported today.
In a written statement, the mayor, who was elected by the Social Democratic Party (PSD), expressed his belief that the “truth would prevail,” stating that the court’s decision reinforces his confidence in the justice system.
“I remain committed to serving the people of Marvão with transparency, dedication, and integrity,” added the mayor, who is running for re-election this year in the municipal elections.
In November 2022, the president of Marvão City Council was sentenced to three years in prison, with a suspended sentence, and the loss of his mandate for a crime of passive corruption.
At that time, the ruling from the judges of the Portalegre Court involved, in addition to the mayor, three other defendants. One was acquitted, while the other two were convicted of active corruption, also receiving suspended sentences.
The judges mentioned a “plan” among the defendants for the São Salvador de Aramenha Parish Council in the municipality of Marvão to return funds to the Institute for the Financing of Agriculture and Fisheries (IFAP) in connection with an application to the ProDer program — Defense of the Forest Against Fires, amounting to over 74,000 euros.
The records showed that at the time of the ProDer application, Luís Vitorino was performing duties as a Forestry Office Technician for the municipality and was responsible for managing the application process. He later served as vice president of Marvão City Council from 2009 to October 2017, overseeing Forestry and Agriculture.
According to the case, the Parish Council requested and received more than 37,000 euros in advance from IFAP between 2011 and 2012. On September 5, 2013, when it submitted the first payment request based on a contract with the company FLOPONOR S.A., valued at around 70,000 euros, the organization did not accept it, citing “documentary insufficiencies.”
IFAP eventually terminated the contract with the local authority, demanding the return of the more than 37,000 euros advanced.
Faced with this request from IFAP, the then-defendant Tomás Morgado, the Parish Council president at the time, informed Luís Vitorino of the situation, aiming to “raise the amount,” as the local authority lacked the funds to pay.
The ruling confirmed that Luís Vitorino proposed to defendant Secundino do Nascimento, from FLOPONOR S.A., to “deliver” more than 21,000 euros to the council, as if it were a refund of the amount paid to the company by the local authority for works carried out under the contract.
To make up the total advanced amount (more than 37,000 euros), Luís Vitorino, Secundino do Nascimento, and Nuno Rua, another defendant who was a managing partner of Bioestilhas in 2017, agreed to sell a shredder owned by the local authority to Nuno Rua’s company at an inflated price to deposit the “total amount needed” in the council’s bank account to return the money owed to IFAP.
The judges found that Luís Vitorino agreed that, in exchange for these amounts provided by the companies of defendants Secundino do Nascimento and Nuno Rua, two contract jobs would be awarded to each company ASCOP and FLOPONOR, where they held positions.
