Former Prime Minister José Socrates will be tried for 22 crimes as part of Operation Marques: three for corruption, 13 for money laundering and six for tax fraud, it became known this Thursday.
The historic decision of the Court of Appeal in Operation Marquis, which almost completely cleared the prosecutor of the charge, took a long time to become known due to a technical error.
The judges also believe that Carlos Santos Silva was not a generous friend, but rather a “shill.”
High expenses of Socrates
The court found that the path of money leads to José Sócrates and the way the former prime minister disposed of the capital indicates that there will always be more of it.
Between mid-June 2011 and the end of the year when he was Prime Minister, José Sócrates had expenses of 185 thousand euros, which, according to the debts in his account at the Caixa Geral de Depósitos, would correspond to monthly expenses of 28 thousand euros.
From mid-June 2011 to August 2014, the former ruler had expenses in excess of 1 million euros in his account.
The former ruler, who created a vast network that allowed him to launder money, had varying amounts of money that he spent on many luxury items, inconsistent with what he received as prime minister.
Expenses include buying clothes, eating out and traveling.
Socrates will receive several million from Ricardo Salgado for supporting the Espirito Santo group against Portugal Telecom.
List of defendants appearing in court:
José Socrates Carvalho Pinto de Souza
3 corruption crimes
13 crimes related to money laundering
6 Tax Fraud Crimes
TOTAL: 22 crimes
Carlos Santos Silva (businessman and friend of Socrates)
2 corruption crimes
14 crimes related to money laundering
7 tax crimes
TOTAL: 23 crimes
Joaquim Barroca Rodriguez (former administrator of the construction company LENA Group)
2 corruption crimes
7 Crimes Related to Money Laundering
6 Tax Fraud Crimes
TOTAL: 15 crimes
José Luis Ribeiro dos Santos (Portuguese Infrastructure Officer)
1 corruption crime
1 money laundering crime
Luis Manuel Ferreira da Silva Marques (Portuguese Infrastructure Officer)
1 corruption crime
1 money laundering crime
Ricardo Espirito Santo Salgado (former President of BES/GES)
3 corruption crimes
8 Crimes Related to Money Laundering
TOTAL: 11 crimes
Zeinal Abedin Mohamed Bawa (former executive president of Portugal Telecom)
1 corruption crime
1 money laundering crime
1 crime of tax fraud
Enrique Manuel Fusco Granadeiro (former manager of Portugal Telecom)
1 corruption crime
2 money laundering crimes
2 tax fraud crimes
TOTAL: 5 crimes
Armando Vara (former minister and former CGD administrator)
1 corruption crime
1 money laundering crime
José Digo Gaspar Ferreira (former executive director of the Vale do Lobo project)
1 corruption crime
1 money laundering crime
Rui Horta y Costa (former administrator of Vale do Lobo)
1 corruption crime
1 money laundering crime
José Bernardo Pinto de Souza (businessman and cousin of José Socrates)
2 money laundering crimes
Helder Jose Batalha dos Santos (businessman)
5 Crimes Related to Money Laundering
Gonçalo Nuno Mendes da Trindade Ferreira (lawyer)
3 money laundering crimes
Ines Maria Carrusca Pontes do Rosario (wife of the defendant Carlos Santos Silva)
1 money laundering crime
João Pedro Soares Antunes Perna (former driver of José Socrates)
1 money laundering crime
Sofia Mesquita Carvalho Fava (ex-wife of José Socrates)
1 money laundering crime
Ruy Manuel Antunes Mao de Ferro (Managing Partner and Company Manager)
1 money laundering crime
Lena Engenharia and Konstrucoins, SA
1 corruption crime
3 money laundering crimes
6 Tax Fraud Crimes
TOTAL: 10 crimes
Lena Engenharia and Constructions, SGPS
1 corruption crime
1 money laundering crime
Lena, SGPS
1 corruption crime
1 money laundering crime
“RMF-Consulting, Management and Strategic Consulting”, L.D.a
1 money laundering crime
The Public Ministry (MP) appealed the instructional decision of Judge Ivo Rosa, which did not confirm most of the allegations in Operation Marquez.
In April 2021, Ivo Rosa dropped almost all charges in “Operation Marquis.” The appeal concerned the refusal of an investigative order for 172 of the 189 crimes included in the initial indictment of the prosecutor’s office.
In addition to the technical error in Citius, this Thursday the website of the Lisbon Court of Appeal was the target of a computer attack, as a result of which the Supreme Council of the Judiciary ruled out a connection between the two problems.
In the update
Author: Deborah Carvalho
Source: CM Jornal

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