// Miguel A. Lopes / Lusa
The Prime Minister of Portugal, Luís Montenegro
The Public Ministry denied this Friday, in a statement, having made “any complaint or even transmission of information to the Federal Revenue Service” in the context of the Spinumviva case. The CM notes that the fiscal inconsistencies detected are not denied by the Public Ministry.
The Public Ministry and Correio da Manhã are on a collision course over the so-called Spinumviva case, which involves the prime minister Luis Montenegro and your family business.
On Friday, the Attorney General’s Office issued a statement in which it denied having made “any complaint or even transmission of information to the Federal Revenue, within the scope of the preventive investigation concerning Spinumviva”.
The clarification came following news published by Correio da Manhã, which stated that prosecutors from the Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP) had communicated to the Tax Authorities data on clients from Montenegro, referring to services provided while he practiced law.
According to the CM, these services, originally associated with the law firm of Montenegro, would have been invoiced through Spinumvivawhich could create a more favorable tax framework and result in irregularities before the Federal Revenue.
The newspaper maintains that from Montenegro and whose payments were invoiced by Spinumviva is Cofina itself — the media group that owned Correio da Manhã until 2023, the year in which it was acquired by Medialivre, the newspaper’s current owner.
The Public Ministry, in its statement, just refuses that there has been any contact with the Tax Authorities during the preventive investigation.
However, Correio da Manhã: communication to the Tax Authorities would have occurred after the archiving of this same investigationo, and not while it was taking place — a distinction that PGR note does not address and that leaves a gray area to be clarified.
The CM also guarantees that the tax inconsistencies detected in preventive investigation are documented and have not been denied by the PGR.
According to the newspaper, DCIAP prosecutors understood from the beginning that the investigation could only investigate facts that qualify as tax fraud qualified, referring any minor irregularities to the sphere of competence of the Tax Authority.
Documents relating to contracts and payments from Spinumviva were collected by members of the Judiciary Police, but it remains to be confirmed whether these elements were formally transmitted to the Tax Authorities or whether the AT already holds them in other ways, notes the newspaper.
The central question now lies in knowing whether the Tax Authority will follow up on the analysis of alleged irregularities and whether Montenegro could face a additional tax settlement.
