“Absolute and complete lack of evidence” was the wording used by judge Ana Cristina Cardoso to acquit Francisco Moita Flores, former president of the Santarem City Council, of the crimes of corruption and money laundering that were charged against him in the controversial case of the construction of an underground parking lot in Jardim da -Liberdade.
In addition to the writer, two other defendants in the trial were acquitted: Gaspar Borges, CEO of ABB Construções, the company that built the project, and Nuno Moita Flores, son of the former mayor.
Leaving the court, Moita Flores stressed that he did not expect a different outcome and emphasized that the entire process was rooted in the political motives of the “local leaders” of the PSD.
“These gentlemen in the House of Santarem, to whom I gave a mandate, decided, two years after my departure, to pursue me through criminal prosecution,” said the former mayor, emphasizing that “I was acquitted of all charges, and in other ways and it couldn’t be, because I didn’t do anything illegal.”
It should be remembered that Gaspar Borges was accused of bribing Francisco Moita Flores in the new contract signed between the Chamber and ABB Construções in 2009 regarding the non-construction of the second phase of the car park.
According to the Ministry of State, the contract caused great harm to the municipality and was a way of compensating Braga’s company for not completing the initial work, but the Santarem court did not find any evidence to support this thesis.
The crime of money laundering was related to a false audit carried out by the company Introsys of the son of Moita Flores against a company of the ABB group, in the amount of 300 thousand euros, money that should have been used to pay the former President of the Chamber for a service provided to Gaspar Borges.
Once again, the court considered that there was no evidence in the case to accuse the defendants of committing a crime, since the check was actually carried out in the order in which the defendants explained.
“This is one of the greatest evils that local leaders can inflict on people who serve their cities with honesty, nobility and transparency,” Francisco Moita Flores said as he left the Santarem court.