The outgoing president of the regional government of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque (PSD), has asked to be heard in a trial on suspicion of corruption in the region in which he has been named as a defendant, his lawyer Pedro Barosa said on Monday.
“I confirm that Dr. Miguel Albuquerque asked to be heard in the case in which he was named as a defendant,” lawyer Pedro Barosa said in response to Lusa.
CNN Portugal reported on Miguel Albuquerque’s request to be heard in a trial over alleged corruption in the region, noting that the now-retired president of the regional government of Madeira made himself available to speak in 2021.
The case was transferred to Judge Jorge Bernardes de Melo of the Central Court of Criminal Investigation at the Judicial Campus in Lisbon, where interrogations of the three suspects detained in the case for coercive measures are expected to begin on Tuesday, a judicial source said.
On Wednesday, after about 130 searches of houses and other properties carried out by the Judicial Police (PJ), mainly in Madeira, but also in the Azores and various parts of the continent, the then mayor of Funchal, Pedro Calado, was arrested. (PSD), leader of the construction group AFA Avelino Fariña and main shareholder of the civil engineering group Socicorreia, Custódio Correia.
The arrest of two businessmen and the mayor of Funchal followed an operation that also affected the president of the regional government (PSD/SDS-PP), Miguel Albuquerque, who was named as a defendant and resigned as an official this Monday, a decision he announced on Friday, despite the fact that , who initially said he would not resign.
Following the trial, Pedro Calado resigned as mayor of Funchal because he “realized that this was appropriate behavior given the circumstances he was going through,” his lawyer Paulo Sa e Cunha said on Saturday.
According to the joint venture, we are talking about suspicions of active and passive corruption, economic participation in business, malfeasance, receiving or offering undue advantages, abuse of power and influence trading.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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