José Sena Goulão / Lusa
Nuno Melo, Minister of National Defense
Searches conducted this Thursday on suspicions of corruption related to public tenders to combat the fires resulted in the constitution of 12 defendants. The Defense Minister speaks of “Great Parangonas” in the newspapers.
The Judiciary Police (PJ) carried out dozens of searching in private companies and state facilities on Thursday, including the Air Force Staff, on suspicion of a cartel scheme and addiction of the rules of public hiring that will have injured the State.
At stake is an investigation into related to public tenders to combat rural fires, in a value that surrounds the 100 million euros.
Of these searches, according to the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), resulted in 12 defendants.
According to the note published by the PGR, seven singular persons and five legal persons were argued in a process that continues to investigate and are secret.
The operation “Control Tower” It included 28 search warrants, which took place at households and commercial and accounting companies and in public bodies, in the districts of Lisbon, Beja, Faro, Castelo Branco, Porto and Bragança.
The searches involved the National Civil Aviation Authority (Anac), the premises of the Staff, in Alfragide, Lisbon, and the companies Helibravo, Heliportugal and HTA.
Concerned are suspected of the practice of Crimes of active and passive corruptionqualified scam, abuse of power, influence trafficking, criminal association and qualified tax fraud.
According to the note published this morning by the Judicial Police, the investigated commercial companies that were part of a complex “complex network” established at least since 2022, have been controlling participation in public tenders in the context of rural fires in Portugal, worth about 100 million euros.
These public tenders focus on the purchase of operation, maintenance and management of the state’s own aircraft aircraft, dedicated exclusively to the Special Rural Fire Fighting Device (Decir).
The purpose of the search network would be that the Portuguese state would be lacking in air and, thus, subject to subsequent higher prices of these commercial companies, explained the PJ.
Nuno Melo talks about “Parangonas” in the newspapers
In a reaction to this operation, the Minister of Defense Nuno Melo He guaranteed to be unaware of the contours of research related to public tenders to combat fires, but stressed that he is used to seeing in the newspapers “Great Parangonas” about processes that “end up in nothing”.
“Compliance with legality is simply inalienable and with regard to national defense transparency is an obligation, as in relation to any other tutelage area. (…) [São] facts that I do not know. Fortunately, I have often used to see large pangonas of newspapers with great processes that later end up in anything and therefore not replacing myself to the judges, ”said the Minister of National Defense.
Nuno Melo, as he had already been mentioned by his ministry in a statement, assured that he has already asked the Air Force “all the information available in this regard,” said this branch is “collaborating in everything that is asked for justice” and stressed that “when you have information” will make a statement about the case.
“I cannot comment on what I am unaware of absolutely. (I have been in politics for so long that I have the caution to know how to wait for the facts before commenting”He added.
Melo again attacking journalistsstating that the judges are condemned and “they are neither the ministers, nor the journalists who normally draw a sentence.”
