Prominent figures Paulo Lourenço and former PS deputy António Gameiro have been named as formal suspects in Operation More Value. The operation followed a series of police raids conducted on Tuesday, targeting several locations, including the headquarters of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), amid allegations of undue advantage, corruption, economic participation in business dealings, and tax fraud.
“It is unacceptable for me to see my name associated with a process to which I am unrelated. I had no influence on the decision to sell the property, had no say in the choice of the winning bid, and received no benefit, direct or indirect, from this transaction. I categorically deny receiving anything from this deal. Any suggestion to the contrary is false and profoundly unjust,” Paulo Lourenço declared in a statement.
In the same message, the former official asserted that he has “nothing to hide” and has cooperated “from the outset with the authorities,” expressing his inability to accept that his “honor and reputation are being questioned by baseless suspicions.”
“I will do everything within my power to ensure this situation is clarified with maximum speed, not only to unequivocally demonstrate my innocence but also to understand how and why I was drawn into this investigation,” he affirmed.
Lourenço concluded by stating his full trust in the judicial system and expressing hope that “this process will be conducted with diligence, impartiality, and speed, so that truth prevails.”
Lawyer Paulo Lourenço served as the general secretary of the FPF from 2012 to 2018, and as a legal advisor to then-president Fernando Gomes, while António Gameiro, with a PhD in Law, was a PS deputy elected five times for Santarém, leaving the Assembly in 2023.
The FPF is now led by Pedro Proença, who took over in February this year from Fernando Gomes, the president for the previous 13 years and currently the head of the Portuguese Olympic Committee (COP).
The searches are connected to the sale of the former FPF headquarters, in 2018, located on Rua Alexandre Herculano, Lisbon, which sold for over 11 million euros, according to the PJ’s statement.
The PJ also stated that during the investigation, “a series of situations were identified that may constitute illegal conduct, particularly related to the brokerage of the building’s sale.”
On Tuesday, 20 search warrants were executed at residences, a banking institution, and law firms situated across the districts of Lisbon, Setúbal, and Santarém.
The investigation, initiated in 2021, is being conducted by the Lisbon Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DIAP) and will proceed “with the analysis of the evidence now gathered and with the appropriate tests and examinations.”
