An audit released today revealed that between 2023 and 2024, TAP, as a public company, signed contracts for the acquisition of services and goods totaling approximately 473 million euros, with most individual contracts exceeding 950,000 euros. These contracts cover areas such as fuel supply, insurance, catering, aircraft maintenance, and leasing.
The Court of Auditors concluded that many of these contracts were executed before being submitted for review or before the oversight entity’s pronouncement, which violates Article 45 of the Law of Organization and Process of the Court of Auditors (LOPTC).
In some cases, the contracts were fully paid before reaching the auditing phase, according to the report released today.
TAP justified this conduct by arguing that the contracts were not, in its view, subject to prior oversight and that circumstances involved an urgent imperative due to the risk of financial and reputational consequences if not executed.
One notable case is the fuel supply contract for 67 airports, initiated in April 2023 and valued at 554.7 million euros, aimed at avoiding flight cancellations and ensuring compliance with the restructuring plan approved by Brussels. However, the Court deemed these justifications legally invalid.
In their defense, TAP and the accused officials claimed they acted in the face of conflicting duties, invoked the absence of fault or excusable necessity, and requested the case’s dismissal or, alternatively, mitigation or waiver of fines, emphasizing the infractions occurred continuously.
The individuals responsible for the pointed irregularities include former presidents, the current chairman of the Board and Executive Committee, as well as the members of these bodies at the time of the events and those currently in place.
The Court of Auditors does not identify names in the report, but Christine Ourmières-Widener served as the company’s executive president until April 2023, when Luís Rodrigues took over TAP’s leadership.
Besides fuel supply, the Court identified irregularities in contracts such as catering services in Boston, valued at 6.1 million euros, mandatory accident insurance for 14.5 million euros, and aircraft wet leases, all executed without prior approval.
After reviewing all the information, the judges from the Court of Auditors approved the report concluding the illegal execution of contracts before the necessary assessment, recommended that TAP strictly adhere to legal norms, and set the fees owed by the company at 9,049.73 euros.
As is customary in cases where illegalities are detected, the process was forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will now decide whether to proceed to trial or dismiss the case.
