The Municipality of Ourém confirmed that authorities conducted operations today at the Town Hall, collecting documentation and information related to a private construction licensing process, according to a statement by the local government led by Luís Albuquerque, elected by the PSD/CDS-PP coalition.
The statement noted that “municipal services provided full cooperation and made available all requested materials to the competent authorities.”
The Polícia Judiciária (PJ) reported carrying out a police operation in the Ourém region today, executing 25 search warrants, both residential and non-residential, at three industrial companies and the municipal government office.
The operation concerned “acts potentially involving the violation of urban planning laws, common pollution risk, corruption, subsidy or grant fraud, and money laundering.”
The operation, named “Terra Limpa,” was conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department of Leiria and the National Unit for Combating Corruption, both part of the PJ, along with the Inspectorate-General of Agriculture, Sea, Environment, and Spatial Planning. This action is part of investigations led by the Regional Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP) of Évora and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The companies involved are from the Verdasca group, as reported by sources familiar with the case to Lusa agency.
“According to the investigation, several companies belonging to the same business group allegedly conducted industrial activities within the National Ecological Reserve (REN) without proper operational licenses and construction permits, potentially causing ecological damage,” explained the PJ.
The Judiciária clarified that “the illegal construction of an industrial unit within a large-scale complex is under scrutiny.”
“This industrial unit is operational, with strong suspicions that clandestine waste deposits have occurred in the area,” it added.
The PJ also indicated that “the submission of subsidy applications from the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, and the Recovery and Resilience Plan, based on provisional operational licenses and construction permits issued by Ourém’s local government, is under investigation.”
“These subsidies aimed to support industrial research, promote experimental development, digital transformation, and internationalization of companies, and improve their environmental sustainability,” with “projects involving subsidies totaling 19 million euros, and payments of at least 5.5 million euros have already been made.”
Meanwhile, the DIAP Regional of Évora announced on its website that operations were conducted at an industrial complex in Ourém, at the Town Hall, “at the headquarters of several commercial companies, and in private residences.”
“The process began at the DIAP of Santarém in September 2023 and was transferred to the DIAP Regional of Évora this past April,” it noted.
In October 2024, the environmental association Quercus accused companies from the Verdasca group of constructing a landfill and pavilions in the Fátima parish, municipality of Ourém (district of Santarém), in an area within the REN.
“Quercus warns of the construction of a massive landfill and pavilions for concrete production near the Cabecinho Road in Fátima, in a Conservation Forest area as defined in the Ourém PDM [Municipal Master Plan] and within the REN, without any licensing, constituting an environmental offense,” the association stated.
On March 11, Lusa requested information from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) regarding several investigations related to this case.
A month later, the PGR responded that the investigations are “ongoing, subject to external confidentiality.”
