Estela Silva / Lusa
At issue are suspicions of tampering with public contracts for the supply of fire-fighting helicopters. Gesticopter, a company owned by the minister’s brother-in-law, is one of the entities targeted.
This Thursday, the Judiciary Police (PJ) carried out a new search operation related to alleged irregularities in the contracting of aerial means fire fighting.
The new searches involve supplier companies and some protagonists previously targeted in the “Control Tower” operation. Among the names associated with the efforts is Ricardo Leitão Machado, brother-in-law of the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro. Both Ricardo Leitão Machado’s home and his company’s offices were searched.
According to information provided by , the operation takes place in different parts of the country and could result in arrests, following warrants issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The research focuses on suspected of tampering with public tenders related to the rental of aerial equipment intended for fighting rural fires.
This new offensive appears as a second phase of the “Control Tower” operation, launched in May last year. At the time, the PJ carried out 28 home and business searches from North to South of the country.
Authorities suspect that certain companies agreed to boycott public tenders in order to demand higher prices in public contracts for the supply of aerial equipment. At stake were more than 30 public contracts carried out since 2022 and around 100 million euros.
One of the companies targeted was Gesticopterwho has connections with Leitão Amaro’s brother and brother-in-law. Last year, Gesticopter obtained a contract worth 16.4 million euros with the Air Force, without having any competitors in the contest. The company was born from the transformation of another company, Gestifly, which also signed five contracts worth 10.5 million euros since 2024.
At the time of the first searches, Leitão Amaro apologized in the Council of Ministers when related portfolios were discussed.
This Thursday’s measures aim to collect additional documentationfinancial data and evidence considered relevant to further the criminal investigation. The PJ is also analyzing links between the various players involved in the process, including businesspeople and those linked to companies that supply fire-fighting resources.
So far, no details were released about the possible degree of involvement of the Presidency minister’s family member, nor whether there are formal charges filed against those targeted.
