Lisbon residents were paid to give up the addresses to legalize immigrants

Scheme used fake addresses to issue requests for manifestation of interest. Employee of the Parish Council will have cooperated with the crime.

A strangely high number of foreign residents was being registered in certain props of the Penha da França Zone in Lisbon, in November 2022, a situation that caught the attention of the President of the Parish Council itself.

The mayor then decided to warn the Judicial Police, which began an investigation into the case. Behind the subject was, after all, a criminal network that, in a few months, profited with the scheme at least 260 thousand euros (for the head only, an Asian man of 49 years resident in Lisbon), says the.

The goal was to attest that immigrants live in the national territory, which would guarantee them legalization in the country. For this, the network gave money – some dozens of euros – to residents of Penha da França in exchange for the record of their addresses. There are witnesses with 1400 signatures.

And the scheme even used intermediaries. Of indostanic origin, these intermediaries were sitting at the cafe looking for inhabitants who were available to provide their address. These “recruited” were essentially Portuguese families with low income.

Then, with the residence defined, it was easy to start with the request for manifestation of interest to the “clients” of the criminal network, individuals from Pakistan and Bangladesh. The network operated since January 2020.

The result? On two floors of a building on Penha de França Street “Viviam”, according to the records, 4349 people. Only this example will have surrendered 200 thousand euros to “true” residents of these dwellings.

Now, arrange the trial, this Tuesday, 30 defendants in the case. They are accused of falsifying documents and assisting illegal immigration.

Among these defendants, there is even a Parish Councilwhich will have compatted with the scheme, functioning as a facilitator. It will have issued illegal immigrants attested even without having the essential documents.

In 2023, one of the intermediary had not yet abandoned the business, even coma. investigation already ongoing. It just changed where it operated to the rim – it was caught again.