Portuguese police have searched the Lisbon headquarters of the country’s Socialist Party (PS) as part of a corruption investigation into the awarding of public contracts, the Judicial Police (PJ) has said.
The operation, codenamed Imergente, has so far led to five arrests, with 37 people named as formal suspects – known in Portugal as arguidos – the force said in a statement on May 28.
Officers from the PJ’s National Anti-Corruption Unit have been carrying out dozens of searches at homes and business premises in Lisbon and in the towns of Mafra, Oeiras and Coimbra. According to Euronews, the force was executing 60 search warrants at residences and 32 at other properties.
The investigation centres on the alleged misuse of “direct award procedures or prior consultation processes, in clear violation of applicable legal norms”, the PJ said. It added that the practices had caused “evident harm to the public treasury”.
The suspected offences are malfeasance and economic participation in business, both linked to contracts awarded by municipal and parish councils, according to the statement.
CNN Portugal, which first reported the raids, said investigators were examining an alleged network built around the party’s local government power base. The broadcaster reported that the inquiry covers the hiring of party members and the awarding of contracts to firms owned by Socialists through direct negotiation, said to total more than €800,000 between 2016 and 2022.
The PS has confirmed that the PJ was at its offices though said it was not itself the target of the investigation. In a statement, the party said officers were carrying out proceedings related to activities attributed to one of its workers.
The party added that it was cooperating with the police in everything that was requested to ensure the inquiry ran smoothly, while respecting the principles of the rule of law.
About 400 inspectors and experts from the PJ, along with seven prosecutors, have been mobilised for the operation, the force said. Those arrested are due to appear before the Central Criminal Investigation Court in Lisbon for questioning, where a judge would decide on any precautionary measures.
The searches have come a day after Spanish police seized information from the Madrid headquarters of the governing Socialist Party (PSOE), led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, as part of a criminal investigation into suspected financial wrongdoing.
The PS, founded in 1973, is currently the main opposition party in Portugal after losing power to the centre-right.
