Lack of information prevents the lifting of immunity from PSD deputies in the Tutti Frutti case

The application to waive the immunity of three PSD deputies under suspicion in the Tutti Frutti case was returned to the court due to the lack of information necessary for the assessment of the Commission on Transparency and the Status of Deputies.

The information was published Tuesday by CNN and confirmed by Lusa from a source connected to the trial. We are talking about the absence of elements of the facts that are the subject of investigation within the framework of this investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office (MP), as well as the time at which they occurred, as well as the types of crimes associated with them. criminal framework and an indication of the possible existence of strong evidence of the commission of an intentional crime.

This issue was raised by the defense of MP Louis Newton, who about a year ago asked to be named as a defendant in this case, in a request addressed to the Central Criminal Court (TCIC), in which he argued that the decision of the Transparency Commission and the Statute of Deputies, as well as the exercise of the right of an MP the preliminary hearing presupposes access to this information, requiring its transmission to the Assembly of the Republic.

The request to waive the immunity of deputies Luis Newton, Carlos Eduardo Reis and Margarida Saavedra was requested by a deputy last month in order to name the accused and collect evidence in the Tutti Frutti case.

However, the TCIC order provided only information about the types of crimes and the relevant criminal structures.

The deputy believes that Carlos Eduardo Reis faces serious charges of active corruption, malfeasance and influence peddling, Louis Newton has convincing evidence of passive corruption and malfeasance, and Margarida Saavedra faces serious charges of qualified fraud, according to the ruling.

Due to the decision of the Transparency and Deputies’ Statute Commission to request the court to provide missing information to analyze the request for waiver of immunity – applicable to the three deputies – the final appointment as defendants in this case is postponed.

The three Socialist Democratic MPs took office on 26 March, following the last legislative elections on 10 March.

Operation Tutti Frutti has been investigating alleged favoritism towards PS and PSD activists through agreements and government contracts since 2018, including suspicions of passive corruption, influence peddling, economic involvement in business and prohibited financing.