The lawyer of the former president of the Funchal City Council confirmed this Wednesday that the diamond found in the office of Pedro Calado is of “negligible value” and is worth nothing.
“I strictly say this: I have reason to believe that [diamante] It’s no use, as I told you. I accept that it may be argued that if someone tells me that it is worth it, it is something that we will have to wait and see,” Paulo Sae Cunha told reporters as they took their lunch break at the Central Criminal Court . (TSIK).
The lawyer acknowledged that he initially said the property’s “value is negligible,” but on Wednesday admitted the best way to describe it was “to say it is negligible.”
“What I am saying now is that I still have every reason to trust the statement I made,” he stressed, adding that he “knows very little about diamonds.”
CNN Portugal reported Tuesday evening that the diamond found in the former city hall is real and that the Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda estimates it will be worth 50,000 euros, contradicting the defense Pedro Calado originally came forward. in “synthetic diamond”.
“What I know is that there are high quality synthetic diamonds. These synthetic diamonds cost less than natural diamonds, they cost much less (…) and I also know what needs to be done to distinguish a synthetic diamond from a natural one. From a laboratory point of view, this is something that can only be done in certain laboratories. certified for this purpose,” he added.
According to defense attorney Pedro Calado, new elements have been reported that indicate a different meaning and that these elements “were obtained without conflicting evidence from the defense,” noting that when the defense can apply its conflicting evidence, “a conclusion will soon be reached about the agreed price.”
Paulo Cunha e Sa admitted that he may have to “reconsider what he said,” stressing that when he said the significance was “negligible,” it was because he had reason to believe so.
“If they convince me that this is not the case, I will have to make sure of it. At the moment, I am not convinced because I have not had any intervention,” he said, also adding that it must be a certified international laboratory conducting the diamond grading examination.
The case involving the former mayor of Funchal and two businessmen, Custodio Correia and Avelino Fariña, detained on suspicion of corruption in Madeira, is being led by investigating judge Jorge Bernardes de Melo.
This Wednesday is the second day of the investigation into Pedro Calado, detained for 15 days as part of this process, and, according to Sae-Cunha, it is progressing at a “good pace” but should continue on Thursday.
The interrogations of Custodio Correia, CEO and main shareholder of the construction group Socicorreia, and Avelino Fariña, head of the construction group AFA, have already ended.
Only after all interrogations have been completed will coercive measures become known.
On January 24, the Judicial Police (JP) carried out some 130 searches at home and outside, mainly in Madeira, but also in the Azores and several areas of the continent, as part of the process of investigating suspicions of active and passive actions. corruption, economic involvement in business, malfeasance, receiving or offering of undue advantage, abuse of power and undue influence.
The operation also affected the President of the Regional Government of Madeira (PSD/CDS-PP), Miguel Albuquerque, who was accused and resigned from his position. The resignation was officially accepted by the Republic’s representative in the region on Monday and published in the Diário da República on the same day.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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