Torres Vedras lawyer suspended for two years following conviction for fraud
Paulo Saraiva was suspended from legal practice for two years by the Bar Association following a conviction to four years' suspended prison sentence for aggravated fraud. At least 10 investigation cases are ongoing in the Lisbon North District Court.
Lawyer suspended from Bar Association following conviction for fraud against corporate client
Paulo Saraiva, a lawyer with an office in Torres Vedras, was suspended from the practice of law for two years by the Bar Association, according to reporting by Observador. The disciplinary sanction follows a final conviction to four years' suspended prison sentence for aggravated fraud committed against a corporate client.
In an edict dated October, to which news agency Lusa gained access this Friday, the Bar Association states it has imposed the suspension sanction and an accessory fine of 4,700 euros to be paid to the party whose complaint prompted the opening of the disciplinary proceeding.
The conviction was handed down in January 2025 by Lisbon Court. In addition to the suspended prison sentence, Saraiva was ordered to pay compensation of 77,240 euros to the injured company — a sum corresponding to the loss caused, plus interest. The law firm of which he is majority partner was likewise convicted of the same crime and ordered to pay a fine of 54,000 euros.
The lawyer's criminal record, consulted by Lusa in connection with one of the cases in which he stands accused, indicates that he had previously been convicted of document falsification.
The investigations do not end there. Saraiva is being investigated for further counts of aggravated fraud allegedly committed against private clients, with at least ten cases under inquiry in the Lisbon North District Court, according to sources connected to the cases.
According to those same sources, the lawyer is said to have appropriated substantial sums handed over by clients in connection with court proceedings or seizures that he was representing, without progressing those proceedings or returning the sums received. The complaints lodged with the Bar Association served as the starting point for the disciplinary proceedings now concluded.
Source: Observador