The speaker of parliament said on Wednesday evening that he was shocked by the discovery of cash in the office of the prime minister’s chief of staff, considering it a complete breach of trust.
This estimate of the 75,800 euros found in the office of Vitor Escaria during the judicial searches carried out last week at the official residence of the Prime Minister was given by Augusto Santos Silva in an interview with RTP3.
“At first I didn’t believe it, but then I heard the lawyer [de Vítor Escária] TBA and I were absolutely shocked. This is an absolute breach of trust. This is unacceptable – and I hope that the prosecutor’s office will be absolutely merciless in answering the question of where this money came from,” said the former Minister of State and Foreign Affairs.
The President of the Assembly of the Republic needs to determine whether, among other things, the money that was kept in the envelopes and the wine box was declared by the tax authorities.
“It’s one of those things where there’s no wall to protect people because they’re in public,” he said.
Asked whether the choice of Vitor Escaria as the prime minister’s chief of staff indicated an evaluation problem on António Costa’s part in selecting direct employees, Augusto Santos Silva admitted: “Perhaps there was an error in evaluation.”
“We all make mistakes in judgment when choosing people. I’ve already done that,” he added, alluding to his long career in government.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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