Joao Cravinho “did not know about the terms of the contract” for the provision of consulting services, signed by Marco Capitan Ferreira.

National Defense Minister Helena Carreiras and former portfolio holder Joao Gomes Cravinho speak in Parliament this Friday over a controversy involving former ruler Marco Captain Ferreira, accused of Operation Perfect Storm. The hearing comes two weeks after he stepped down as Secretary of Defense, which he has held since March 2022.

Among the cases that have been made public about which MPs want to hear Carreiras and Gomes Cravinho is a consulting contract signed in 2019 between the former secretary of state and the Directorate General of National Defense Resources (DGRDN), which at the time was led by Alberto Coelho, one of the participants in the Perfect Storm legal operation, whose name is associated with cost overruns in the repurchase of the former Belém military hospital.

João Gomes Cravinho became aware of this contract when he was Minister of Defense. cm. And it was the current MNE that signed the order on January 29, 2019, determining the composition of the negotiating group for the contract for the EH-101 helicopter, which will be coordinated by the DGRDN, which was then headed by Alberto Coelho.

At parliamentary hearings, Joao Cravinho bluntly stated that he “did not know about the terms of the contract” and the absence of prior approval from the Accounts Chamber. The former defense minister told deputies that former CEO Alberto Coelho, accused of corruption, told him he wanted to hire Marco Capitan Ferreira as an adviser to “provide legal advice” on the maintenance of the EH-101 helicopters. A decision that came “solely and exclusively from DGRDN and its CEO and the terms of his contract, be it duration or cost.”

“When I took office, I quickly realized that he was one of the few people with in-depth knowledge in this very specialized field,” he repeated, praising “his academic and professional career, close association with the defense industry, and performance of duties.” However, he was not aware of the functions that the former Secretary of State would take on under a contract signed with DGRDN. “Because the contract was not signed by me,” he justifies himself.

“Judicial decisions are not made here. Political decisions are made,” he warned the deputies present. Faced with Chega’s interference, the former defense minister accused the party of “political exploitation” of the case. “It looks like the burden of proof is on our side and that we are all to blame. We don’t know exactly what this lawsuit is about. We know what the newspapers write,” he defended himself.

To justify the contract, Joao Cravinho stated that “DGRDN has concluded that it needs technical assistance” in order to take on “new responsibilities in January 2019”. “There are hundreds of contracts in public administration at all times,” the current MNE stressed in response to the PSD, stating that he has no obligation to “control” them, otherwise “I wouldn’t do anything more.” “This agreement was sent by the DGRDN. It was not the minister who sent him,” he said.

Helena Carreiras started by bringing something new to this audition by demonstrating her intention to “continue organic restructuring of DGRDN”. “I believe that the merger carried out in the past between the two main general directorates, the Directorate of Personnel and Military Recruitment and the Directorate of Armaments and Defense Infrastructure, represented a huge overload of human resources, concentrated managerial powers in the hands of a few and created risks that it is important to minimize,” the minister said.

He then stated that he never found evidence of non-compliance with the law during the period when Marco Capitan Ferreira was in government. “Although I do not know exactly the reasons that led to the search of the residence of Professor Marco Capitao Ferreira, I can assure you that during the period when I worked with him, I never found any indication that the Minister of National Defense did not act in strict accordance with his powers and in accordance with the law,” he stressed. The former secretary of state had “the right profile” for the role, the minister said.