Judicial police and the Ministry of Justice are carrying out a dozen searches in connection with the case of Portuguese-Brazilian twins who allegedly had irregular access to treatment on the National Health Service (SNS).
ABOUT CM You know that the former Minister of Health, António Lacerda Sales, was named as the accused. Authorities are searching the Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon, Lacerda Sales’ home and his office at the State Department of Health.
Other targets of the searches are the Ministry of Health itself, where the General Secretariat intervened in the process, as well as the Institute of Social Security and Infarmed.
Santa Maria Hospital confirmed CM that searches are ongoing and that he is cooperating with police inspectors in collecting information.
Authorities are combing through all public and private institutions that were involved in the dispute over the treatment of the twins. The aim of the investigation is to determine whether there was any benefit to treating the twins with the drug Zolgensma, which costs around 4 million euros, as well as the entire process associated with the therapy used, such as equipment delivered to the family but never picked up.
ABOUT CM You know that a number of crimes are being investigated, including abuse of power, malfeasance and abuse of influence, and that the case has been with the judicial police since January, and several people have already been questioned as witnesses.
The SP confirmed in a statement that crimes related to “malfeasance, abuse of power, influence peddling, abuse of power and qualified fraud” are suspected.
The searches come after the Inspectorate General of Medical Activities (IGAS) sent a report to the ministry in late 2023 which concluded that Portuguese-Brazilian twins had irregular access to treatment at SNS.
The irregularities were discovered during the first appointment at the Santa Maria hospital in 2020, following a phone call from the office of then Health Minister António Lacerda Sales. The IGAS report found that the timing of the first consultation “would merit correction” but that the treatment followed legal procedures.
After receiving the IGAS report, prosecutors referred the case to the National Anti-Corruption Unit (UNCC) as it involved alleged crimes of abuse of power and influence peddling.
The searches take place on the day on which the first meeting of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the twins case was scheduled. Lacerda Sales was scheduled to have a hearing this Thursday, but he was asked to postpone the hearing for professional reasons.
ABOUT CM You know that searches and searches are not carried out in the building of the President of the Republic. It is worth recalling that the President of the Republic and the Presidency were implicated in this matter because of the steps taken by Marcelo’s son Rebelo de Sousa, who reportedly asked for the treatment of the twins in Santa Maria to be expedited. Nuno Rebelo de Sousa is suspected of sending several requests to the presidential administration and the government, then led by António Costa, Marta Temido in the health department and Lacerda Sales as secretary of state, asking for urgent treatment for the twins.
Meeting of Lacerda Sales and Nuno Rebelo de Souza
According to the IGAS report, the then health minister learned of the twins’ case after a meeting with Marcelo’s son Rebelo de Souza on November 7, 2019, “at which he was asked to cooperate in receiving treatment with the drug Zolgensma.”
The sales secretary sent Santa Maria information about the children’s “identity, date of birth, diagnosis and dates the parents could be present” at the hospital.
In statements about the case in 2023, Sales denied going to the hospital: “I did not make an appointment, I did not call, I did not receive any formalized procedures. So I also never formally addressed Santa. Mary’s Hospital,” said the former Secretary of State for Health.
IGAS believes that “the hospital center complied with technical standards and legality in accessing and providing medical care to two children” receiving the drug Zolgensma for spinal muscular atrophy.
Author: Eduardo Damaso([email protected]), Tanya Laranjo This Deborah Carvalho
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.