Operation Vortex is the first high-profile case to reach the courts, with the trial set to begin on September 5 at the Espinho court (Aveiro district). This case involves alleged acts of corruption involving two former mayors of Espinho, Miguel Reis and Pinto Moreira, with six other defendants accused in a process related to real estate projects and their urban licensing.
On October 4, a new decision is scheduled for the Tancos process by the Santarém court, after the Évora Court of Appeal annulled the trial judgment that convicted 11 of the 23 defendants in January 2022 for omission of pronouncement and the use of evidence obtained through metadata. The case of the theft and recovery of military material from the Tancos National Arsenals had ended with the material authors receiving effective prison sentences.
October is also the month scheduled for the start of the BES/GES trial, also known as the Espírito Santo Universe. More than a decade after the group’s collapse in August 2014, the case has former BES president Ricardo Salgado as the main defendant, accused of 65 crimes, including criminal association, active corruption, document forgery, qualified fraud, and money laundering.
Considered one of the largest cases in Portuguese justice history, this case aggregates 242 inquiries in the main process, which have been appended, and complaints from more than 300 individuals and entities, residing in Portugal and abroad. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the collapse of GES may have caused losses exceeding 11.8 billion euros.
On November 15, the decision of the trial involving Rúben Oliveira (“Xuxas”) and several other defendants for cocaine trafficking and other crimes will be announced at the Lisbon Central Criminal Court.
However, most of the high-profile cases still pending in Portuguese justice are awaiting a date to begin trial or with the investigation yet to be concluded. These include the EDP/CMEC Case, the Tutti Frutti process, the CGD case, Operation Picoas, Operation Influencer, the case investigating corruption suspicions in Madeira, and the process of the twins treated with Zolgensma at Santa Maria Hospital.
Other notable cases without trial dates include the case of former PSD deputy Duarte Lima regarding the 2009 murder in Brazil of Rosalina Ribeiro, the Perfect Storm process, and Operation Marquês, which has former Prime Minister José Sócrates as the main defendant.
Operation Lex, involving corruption and other crimes, is still awaiting a trial date at the Supreme Court of Justice due to the presentation of appeals.
In addition to the trials and inquiries on high-profile cases, the return from these judicial holidays will also include the announcement of a new Attorney General by mid-October, as Lucília Gago has already expressed her desire not to continue in the position.
