Rita Alarcão Júdice asserted that “investigative processes have short periods to run” and it “makes no sense” to “eternalize investigations where all individuals remain under suspicion for endless durations.”
On the sidelines of the I Annual Conference of the Circle of Administrative Lawyers (CAA), themed “The Efficiency of Administrative Justice,” at the Casa da América Latina in Lisbon, the minister expressed that “investigations should not be a pursuit or an obsession.”
“I am not referring to this case; I am talking about the significant responsibility of those who investigate, as investigations can affect any citizen,” she emphasized.
Regarding the fact that Prime Minister Luís Montenegro has not yet sent documents to the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the official stated she does not have access to confidential information.
“Journalists might have it, but I do not have access to confidential information of the process. What I know and what I have already mentioned in connection with many other situations, which have nothing to do with this, is that caution and proportionality of resources are necessary. We are talking about a preventive investigation,” she highlighted.
On Tuesday, CNN Portugal reported that prosecutors responsible for the preventive investigation into Spinumviva believe that a criminal inquiry into the prime minister should be initiated, a decision that rests with the Attorney General.
The Attorney General’s Office clarified that the preventive investigation concerning the company Spinumviva is ongoing, and the Public Prosecutor’s Office is still awaiting documentation, meaning the investigation continues.
At the time, in Albufeira, the prime minister stated he was “dumbfounded and outraged” with the content of the news reports about the Spinumviva case and referred to it as a “shame,” stating that he awaits the “analysis and judgment of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.”
