The Polícia Judiciária conducted searches on Tuesday at the Health Unit of the island of Corvo in the Azores, as well as in the home of Paulo Margato, a doctor and PPM deputy, who is running as an independent candidate for the Corvo Municipal Council.
The investigation concerns allegedly fraudulent medical prescriptions issued over the past five years at this hospital unit.
The Health and Social Security Secretariat of the Azores Government stated that the Health Unit of the island of Corvo provided “full cooperation to the authorities within the scope of the diligence” conducted by the Public Ministry (MP) and PJ.
These actions took place three days after the authorities requested access to medical prescriptions from the hospital’s Board of Directors, which serves the smallest island of the archipelago.
Accused of six crimes in another case
RTP Açores reports that Paulo Margato had previously been charged by the MP with six other crimes as part of Operation Asclépio, which began in 2015.
In March last year, the doctor resigned from the Board of Administration of the Health Unit of the island of Corvo due to clashes with his role as a deputy in the Regional Parliament.
Despite these controversies, Paulo Margato has continued his roles as a doctor and deputy and decided to run independently for the only municipal office in Corvo.
Margato “indicted” and outraged by searches near the election
Meanwhile, Paulo Margato commented on Tuesday’s searches, announcing his intention to lodge complaints with various entities, arguing the actions violated the law and Constitution.
“No aspect of this case justifies such a large-scale search so close to the election, which directly challenges the proportionality, timeliness, and institutional neutrality of the intervention,” stated the candidate of the ‘For a Future Corvo’ Movement in a statement to the press.
Margato mentioned that he was indicted and subjected to the coercive measure of identity and residence term, suggesting “no procedural risk” in his view.
The campaign criticized the operation as “conducted with disproportionate and unprecedented show” and accompanied by “leaked information” to the media, which “clearly violated the secrecy of justice.”
“The operation had a devastating impact on public perception, immediately triggering political repercussions and irreversibly affecting the equality of opportunity among candidacies,” the statement added.
The doctor argued the searches “severely” violated the Constitution by undermining “the guarantee of free, equal, and fair elections,” “the commitment of all public entities to rights, freedoms, and guarantees,” the “duty of impartiality,” and the “limitations of law enforcement to legality and respect for fundamental rights.”
The campaign claimed the Electoral Law for Local Government Bodies was disregarded, which “establishes the immunity of candidates during the electoral period, preventing judicial or police measures that could harm their campaign, except in cases of flagrante delicto for serious crimes.”
Hence, a request was made to the Attorney General’s Office for “confirmation of the prosecutors’ actions,” “evaluation of the procedural timeliness,” and “internal investigations.”
“This communication to the Attorney General’s Office is not a political request: it constitutes an institutional defense of democracy and public trust in justice, which should remain independent of any political or electoral influence,” it emphasized.
Paulo Margato also filed “urgent intervention requests” with the National Election Commission, the Ombudsman, and the superior councils of the MP and the Judiciary, alongside the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Inspectorate-General.
‘For a Future Corvo’ submitted reports to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, and the European Parliament and European Commission.
Paulo Margato highlighted that the situation “hints at a possible existence of a network of contacts among justice agents and local and regional political interests,” as he believes the situation favored the PS candidacy, which currently leads the municipality.
