Secretary of State resigns after indictment

What is at stake in this process are suspicious contracts signed between the former governor when he was mayor of Caminha and businesswoman Manuela Couto, accused along with her husband Joaquim Couto, former mayor of Santo Tirso, in the Operação Teia. The State Ministry reports that Manuela Couto has received an advantage in awarding contracts.

Mit-Make it Happen, Lda is at the center of the investigation. who signed two contracts with Câmara de Caminha in April 2015 and July 2016. In total, they amount to 58 thousand euros. Manuela Couto earned 26 thousand euros in 2015 and 32 thousand in 2016. Two contracts with a communications and marketing company were entered into by direct agreement. Miguel Alves led the municipality from September 2013 until September this year, when he took over as Secretary of State. The process against the former ruler has been going on since 2019. The accusation was made by the DIAP of Porto, which also has Operation Teia, which involves the Coutos and other mayors from the northern region.

In a resignation letter presented this Thursday to the prime minister, Miguel Alves says: “Faced with the accusation of the deputy, and although I do not know his conditions and assumptions, I understand that the conditions that allow me to remain in government have not been met.” He thanked Antonio Costa for his confidence and said that he was “absolutely convinced in good conscience of the legitimacy of all the decisions” he made while presiding over the Chamber of Caminha.

TO LEARN MORE
300 thousand EUR is the amount of the advance paid by Câmara de Caminha to Green Endogenous in 2021 for the lease of the Cross Border Exhibition Center (CET) – see text on the side. The State Department has launched an investigation into the matter.

Doubtful contract
At the end of 2020, Câmara de Caminha signed a 25-year lease with Green Endogenous. 300 thousand euros refer to the rent for the last year of this year.

Process resulting from operation Teia
The investigation against Miguel Alves, in which he was accused, was launched in 2019 and was based on a certificate obtained during the so-called Operation Teija, which is confirmed CM General Prosecutor’s Office.

The prime minister was aware of the existence of two requests
The Prime Minister said this Thursday that he is aware that Miguel Alves is the defendant in two cases. Leaving the meeting at PS’s national headquarters in Lisbon, António Costa said he knew his secretary of state had this status and that it was “a guarantee of who is under investigation, not a precursor to any charge.” And he added: “I was also accused.” Costa said he was “well aware” of the decision.

He was Costa’s assistant for 16 years.
Miguel Alves was António Costa’s deputy when he was Minister of State and Internal Administration from January 2006 to May 2007. He was considered a confidant of the Prime Minister.

Chamber denies evading Accounts Chamber
The Camigni Chamber says the CET lease does not need to be submitted to the Court of Accounts (TC). Polled CM if this type of contract was a way to bypass TC control, the municipality replied: “No. The lease in question should not be subject to the prior approval of the TC, which is confirmed by several recognized lawyers and unaware of the release and impartiality, and even by the opposition advisers themselves, who explicitly stated this at the last meeting of the chamber.

“We will demand the termination of the contract”
Camigna’s municipal assembly will debate again on the 17th of this month the controversial contract for the construction of the Transfrontier Exhibition Centre. The coalition “O Concelho Primeiro” (PSD/CDS-PP/Aliança/PPM) understands that this is a “dead question” and therefore, in addition to clarifying the deal, it will require the resolution of the contract signed between the municipality of Camigny and Green Endogen.

“Our goal at this assembly is to get the contract resolved. At best, discuss the real importance of the exhibition center. For us, this contract is over, not least because the 190-day deadline has already been exceeded. “, tell CM Advisor Liliana Silva. The Social Democrat goes further: “After this limit was exceeded, the company had to return the money. 300 thousand euros are still in the hands of the promoter and are associated with an unconcluded contract. “

Liliana Silva recalls that the agreement has always been in doubt, and reiterates that the transaction was made “bypassing the control of the Accounts Chamber”, without any guarantees from the municipality. “It would be a risk-free investment. In fact, the council paid off the loan, after 25 years the property was owned by the developer, and the municipality was left with nothing. This is bad management,” he concluded.

PCP says consequences must be done
Regarding the resignation of Miguel Alves, the PCP wants everything to be cleared up and “that the calculations and the corresponding consequences be made.”

PSD says he’s always talked about the case
PSD Camigni says the fairground case has never been forgotten and was even the subject of debate in the last municipal elections.