Freeport is about to burst

Anglo-Portuguese meeting at highest level over corruption case

The licensing of the British Freeport chain in Alcochete when Sócrates was a minister, prompted an Anglo-Portuguese meeting. Portugal demands data from bank transfers and the English promised to send everything

by Carlos Tomás and Rute Coelho



The “heavyweights” from Portuguese Justice – the Public Ministry and the Polícia Judiciária – held a meeting in The Hague, in Holland, yesterday, with their British counterparts, at Eurojust (European Unit for Judiciary Cooperation) headquarters. The purpose was to exchange information about the controversial case of the licensing of Freeport, in 2002, in Alcochete, at a time when Sócrates was the Minister of Environment.

24Horas knows that the Portuguese authorities asked their British counterparts to accelerate the fulfillment of a rogatory letter that is dated from 2005. That letter requested data that was considered to be important and that may be related to the suspicion of payment of millionaire bribes for the licensing of the enterprise, namely transfers to British banks and offshore companies.

But three years have gone by and England has not sent said data. It only partially complied with what was requested in the letter, according to what we could establish from a judicial source.

Yesterday’s meeting was useful to remind the British of the fact that judicial deadlines in Portugal are not similar to British ones. And that for that reason, Portugal has an utmost urgency in the sending of that data.

The British authorities have compromised themselves at the highest level to send all the information about money transfers to British banks and offshore companies.

In the meeting, the Portuguese side was represented by Pedro do Carmo, joint director of the Polícia Judiciária, Cândida Almeida, the director of DCIAP (Central Department for Penal Investigation and Action), José Moreira da Silva, the PJ director who is responsible for economical and financial crime, and two investigators that were connected to the Freeport process. The British side was represented by a prosecutor from the Fraud Combat Department and two other investigators.

“The meeting went very well. There was full cooperation and the British police entities committed to solve the situation rapidly”, Cândida Almeida told 24Horas. Nevertheless, the head of DCIAP declined to speak about what happened during the meeting.

Cooperation to be maintained

Lopes da Mota, the Portuguese prosecutor who presides over Eurojust, where the meeting took place, had a similar attitude. “I cannot make any comments about what we discussed inside”, he said.

Johannes Tuy, an assessor to Eurojust, advanced that “the cooperation work between the British and the Portuguese authorities in the Freeport case will continue.” Tuy confirmed that “there is the possibility of a mixed Anglo-Portuguese team being created to investigate the Freeport case”. Portugal and England can request Eurojust to create this mixed team, he said. Pedro do Carmo, a joint PJ director, refused to comment on the meeting.

Facts

Meetings – Yesterday’s meeting also resulted in the possibility of further meetings taking place between the British and the Portuguese authorities over the Freeport case. No specific dates have been scheduled yet.

Sócrates – He was the Environment Minister when Freeport was licensed, in 2002. On the eve of a legislative election, news connected the licensing of the project to José Sócrates. The Attorney General denied any involvement.


source: 24 Horas, 18.11.2008

By Astro

I wonder what names will come out of this scandal hmmmm

Freeport Case: Sol reacts to AG’s communiqué


by: Felícia Cabrita


The Attorney General’s Office states in a communiqué that it doesn’t suspect any minister in the Freeport case, but doesn’t comment on the suspicions from the English authorities. This statement appears following Sol’s breaking news, which revealed that an English investigation into the licensing process of the Alcochete outlet collected indicia of corruption of a minister of António Guterres’ government.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) clarified in a communiqué today that, until this moment, on the Portuguese side, there is no indicia of the involvement of any Portuguese minister, neither from the present nor from any former government, in possible corruption crimes that are related to the so-called Freeport case.

This reaction from the AGO appears following the news that was published by weekly newspaper Sol today, according to which “a socialist minister from the government of António Guterres is a target of the judicial authorities in the United Kingdom, within the criminal investigation that is being carried out in that country, concerning the licensing process of Freeport in Alcochete”.

The unusual communiqué from the AGO fails to contest the news or the contents of the English investigation, which has “a top Portuguese minister” as its main suspect, addressing only the indicia that was collected by the justice in Portugal, which is not the target of Sol’s investigation.

The AGO says that the note was emitted because it fears eventual “social repercussions” that may be prompted by the “suspicions” that are raised by Sol’s article.

According to the AGO’s communiqué, “the process does not contain, until now, any juridically relevant indicia that shows the involvement of any minister of the present Portuguese government or of former governments in eventual crimes of corruption or of any other kind” within this case.

The AGO recalls that the process is held by the Central Department for Penal Action and Investigation and that the investigations await the fulfilment of a rogatory letter that was sent to England in 2005, stressing that a meeting with the competent English authorities to “ensure greater cooperation” between both parties has already taken place.

Nevertheless, the “cooperation has not been carried out in its full form until now, because the rogatory letter that was sent in 2005 has not been completely carried out yet, and no rogatory letter from the English authorities has officially been received”, the communiqué reads.

The AGO’s communiqué further denies that the English authorities recently sent a rogatory letter to the Public Ministry, but Sol reaffirms that not only has said letter been sent, but was even preceded by a pre-rogatory. The English authorities still await a reply to their missive.

The process that concerns the Freeport shopping centre, in Alcochete, is related to suspicions of corruption in the change made to the Tejo Estuary Special Protection Zone (TESPZ), which was decided three days before the 2002 legislative election through a legal decree.


source: Sol, 10.01.09

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Freeport the strange case 'is full of mysterious words. I will try to decipher the hidden meanings of some of them.

by Domingos Amaral

Electoral Year - Season exhibit of the saga 'Freeport'. The first series was in 2005. In 2009 we have 'Back to Freeport' with new faces, more fanfare and a more dense intrigue.

Slander - According to Socrates, is any of the news media about the 'event'. Even if it is a judicial investigation.

Letter rogatory - A fun hobby where the British and the Portuguese investigators are entertained, sending them to each other, without response.

Private area - Gives a grand and half-hidden idea from reality, but in fact it is the personal computer of José Sócrates.

English - Extremely dangerous investigators, who have the nerve to want to investigate the finances of our rulers, but who in three years did not add much to the Portuguese investigation.

Hidden - Interests secret that, according to Socrates, are seeking to destroy its credibility. Obviously, in any case you should not think that it is the PSD, as its vice president, Antonio Borges, has already said that there is no reason to dismiss Socrates, and that he does not want to hear about early elections.

Cousins - In fact, are not cousins, but half-cousins. It is a significant inaccuracy, if there is a need to use the DNA.

Smith & Pedro - Contrary to what one might think, is not a brand of Anglo-Portuguese guns. However, some say it is two gunmen, quick to pull the trigger and sought throughout the American West.

Suspects - Anyone who has been near the Freeport in 2002 and has gone to a meeting on the subject.

Uncle - The half-brother of the mother (look at the DNA!). Who likes good cars and offshores. That is, the rich uncle that everyone liked to have.

ZEA - Species of an alien spacecraft, which in pre-election times hovers the Freeport in bold lateral movements, before finally landing at the site chosen by the Government.

50k - The secret code for notes of one thousand British pounds. Used in this way: 'Ya man, for the survey, we need more 50k."


Source: Correio da Manhã


By Joana Morais

Investigations
Ex-girlfriend of Mr Barroso is investigating the case Freeport
The Attorney General, Pinto Monteiro, appointed before the prosecutor Teresa de Almeida, of 52 years, and Fernanda Pêgo, 54, to direct the investigations of the Freeport case. Teresa de Almeida was once in college, girlfriend of José Manuel Barroso, current President of the European Commission

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The judge Teresa de Jesus Oliveira de Almeida is currently working in the 9th section of the department of investigation and prosecution of Lisbon.

According to 24 hours, a former colleague of Mr Barroso recalled that the current prosecutor was "much appreciated by male colleagues in college, especially because it had some striking green eyes and expressive.

Another colleague recalls that "Teresa had been in school for longer and Almada Jose Manuel's girlfriend and that only the third year the relationship ended when it started to flirt with the 'Guide', Margarida Sousa Uva, wife of José Manuel Barroso today.

Known in the Judiciary as a prosecutor controversy, Teresa de Almeida also hand the recent investigations into the alleged illegal business of the Bank Private Portuguese (BPP) and its chairman John tenant.

Fernanda da Conceição Pêgo Felizardo Oliveira, 54 years, will be the second of the process research Freeport. According to 24 hours, the judge has become the media scandal of fraud in the Independent University, to send to prison the dean Luiz Arouca, the vice-rector and Green Amadeu Lima Rui Carvalho, member of the SIDES, the company that operated the university.

SOL

The new president of the Union of the Magistrates of the Public Ministry, João Palma, is going to ask for an urgent hearing to the President of the Portuguese Republic Cavaco Silva. In the last days João Palma has denounced pressures over the magistrates, allegedly related with the Freeport case which aim at, according to Correio da Manhã, rushing the archival of the process. The Union of the Magistrates of the Public Ministry is going to emit before the end of the day a notice. In it's turn, the Attorney General, Pinto Monteiro, announced for tomorrow a statement regarding the investigation to the Freeport case.»

Meanwhile, Charles 'On my mothers grave' Smith who accuses the Prime Minister José Socrates, as yet again changed is statement. In England he affirmed that the meeting recorded on DVD did in fact occurred, where he, besides calling our Portuguese Prime Minister stupid, stated that Socrates was corrupted. In Portugal, Charles Smith stated to the Judiciary Police and Prosecutors on the case that he never said anything wrong or libellous about Socrates.

The Prime Minister continues to suffer from a 'Black Campaign', orchestrated by some shadow characters and played by the media [TVI and SOL mainly] at an opportunistic moment - the 2009 elections.








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by astro