(in update)
At stake are suspicions of a scheme related to the textile industry that allegedly illegally yielded those targeted 40 million euros through applications for funds with fictitious and inflated expenses. These are funds from the Compete 2020 program.
According to RTP, another suspect is Nuno Mangas, president of the European funds program Compete 2020. These include crimes of fraud in obtaining subsidies from the European Union, tax fraud and money laundering. The scheme will have dragged on over the last four years.
Searches are also taking place in the Compete 2020 building and the president of the institution is one of those investigated.
So far, no arrest warrants have been issued. But more than ten defendants have already been named.
The main target, Manuel Serrão, is responsible for Associação Selectiva Moda, which has the power to approve, within community frameworks, company projects financed by the EU with a view to national and international promotion of the textile and clothing industry, through related projects. with large fairs. It is in support of companies in the sector, through links to the association, that funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) comes into play.
This operation, according to the PJ, aims to “collect evidence related to strong suspicions of the commission of crimes of fraud in obtaining subsidies, qualified tax fraud, money laundering and abuse of power and which harmed the financial interests of the European Union and the State Portuguese”.
Operation “Maestro” took place in the metropolitan area of Lisbon, in the metropolitan area of Porto, in the region of Aveiro and Guarda. O modus operandiexplains the PJ, “is based on creation of complex business structures, aimed at assembling contractual justifications, referring to the provision of services and supplies of goods to fraudulently capture community funds within the scope of at least 14 operations approved, mostly within the framework of the Competitiveness and Operational Program Internationalization (POCI), carried out since 2015″.
Thus, through the 14 projects co-financed by the FEDER, carried out between 2015 and 2023, “the suspects have managed to obtain, to date, the payment of incentives totaling at least 38,938,631.46 euros.”
This investigation also resulted in “strong suspicions of the commitment of employees of public bodies, with violation of their respective functional and reserve duties, in streamlining and conforming procedures related to applications, payment requests and the management activity of co-financed projects”.
250 inspectors participated in the “Maestro” operation, 32 experts from the Technological and IT Expertise Unit and 24 experts from the Financial and Accounting Expertise Unit, also counting on the collaboration of the National Units, Northern Directorate, Lisbon and Tagus Valley Directorate, Board of Directors of the Center, Criminal Investigation Departments of Setúbal, Braga, Guarda and Aveiro, as well as Judicial Magistrates, Public Prosecutor’s Office Magistrates and PGR NAT Specialists.
A judicial source told the media that at stake are applications worth tens of millions of euros to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), adding that the searches are focused on the North and Center of the country. , namely in Porto and Lisbon.
The operation is carried out by hundreds of inspectors from the Judiciary Police, together with magistrates from the Public Ministry. The investigation belongs to the Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP).
Tags: Compete operation investigates suspected fraud community funds
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