Businessman Hernâni Vaz Antunes, a suspect in the case linked to Altice co-founder Armando Pereira, surrendered to the authorities in Porto today, two days after the start of the operation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) and the Tax Agency (AT).
The information came from CNN Portugal and was confirmed to Lusa by a source close to the process. Hernâni Vaz Antunes completed the presentation at a PSP police station this evening, a few hours after he had expressed, in a note published by his defense, that he was available to be heard by the authorities and denied being “on the run or in an uncertain part”.
Hernâni Vaz Antunes is known as the right-hand man of Altice co-founder Armando Pereira, who was arrested on Thursday following the operation carried out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Tax Authority for suspicions related to transactions involving Altice Portugal.
Also arrested in the operation were Jéssica Antunes, daughter of Hernâni Vaz Antunes, and economist Álvaro Gil Loureiro. The three detainees were identified and questioned today before Judge Carlos Alexandre of the Central Criminal Court in Lisbon.
According to the MP’s Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP), the operation launched on Thursday that led to the three arrests involved some 90 searches of homes and other premises, including companies and law firms, in various parts of the country.
It is alleged that “the Altice Group’s decision-making process was compromised in the awarding of contracts, with practices detrimental to the group’s companies and to competition”, indicating private corruption in both active and passive forms. The authorities also point out that, in terms of taxes, the State has been defrauded of a sum “in excess of 100 million euros”.
The investigation also indicates the existence of evidence of “abuse of the reduced taxation applied in the Madeira Free Zone in terms of the IRC” through the fictitious tax domiciliation of individuals and companies. The MP believes that offshore companies have also been used, indicating the crimes of money laundering and forgery.
During the searches, the DCIAP revealed that documents and objects were seized “such as luxury vehicles and exclusive models with an estimated value of around 20 million euros”.
https://www.portugalpulse.com/golden-visa-a-golden-opportunity-for-investors-2023/
