On Tuesday, the Civic Front said it had asked the government to suspend all processes to grant Portuguese citizenship to people who claim descent from Sephardic Jews.
The Civic Front Association indicated that on Monday it wrote to Justice Minister Katarina Sarmento e Castro asking it to cancel naturalization in cases that violate the law, using the example of Russian millionaire Roman Abramovich.
The letter, signed by Civic Front President and Vice President Paulo de Morais and João Paulo Batalha, also requested the publication of a list of all naturalized citizens or pending individuals “who meet the definition of politically exposed persons.” “. .
The Civic Front asked the minister to urgently complete the investigation launched by the government on suspicion of abuse of citizenship, and “to submit a public report on the progress of the investigation, including the foreseeable date for its completion.”
Abramovich’s naturalization is at the heart of Operação Porta Aberta, which includes alleged irregularities in the procedures for granting citizenship to the descendants of Sephardic Jews, originally from the Iberian Peninsula and expelled from Portugal in the 16th century.
After doubts caused by possible illegal actions in granting citizenship to the descendants of Sephardic Jews, Rabbi of the Comunidade Israelita do Porto (CIP) Daniel Litvak was arrested in March 2022 by the judicial police and awaited the development of the process with the term of identity and residence, as well as the issuance of a passport (this latest the measure was meanwhile abolished by a decision of the Lisbon Union).
Lawyer Francisco de Almeida Garrett, a CIP board member, was also charged in the case.
The investigation under the Abramovich trial included conducting searches and suspicion of various crimes, namely trading in influence, active corruption, forgery, money laundering, qualified tax fraud and criminal conspiracy, the joint venture and MP said in a joint statement. communiqué.
The Civic Front’s statement recalled that the French newspaper Le Monde described naturalization under “Sephardi law” as “the new Eldorado of the Portuguese passport”.
“Repeated exposure of Portugal as a safe haven for international criminals shames the Portuguese in the eyes of the world,” the letter says.
“The cyclical repetition of such news should urge the Portuguese state to urgently clarify the violations of the “Sephardi law”,” the Civic Front wrote.
“This incomprehensible delay in clarifying the truth and holding accountable by the government paints a picture of inertia involved in abuse,” the association lamented.
Nearly a year after the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN) confirmed the existence of an investigation and the subsequent initiation of disciplinary proceedings related to the granting of Portuguese citizenship to a Russian businessman, the Lusa agency turned to what was concluded, and if so, what sanctions were applied.
Lusa has not yet received a response.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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