Audit of PJ: conclusions expected by year's end, as Luís Neves faces multiple investigations
The Ministry of Justice expects to receive by the end of 2024 the results of the audit of the Judicial Police conducted by the IGSJ. Minister Luís Neves faces three investigations in the Public Prosecution Service.
Ministry of Justice awaits PJ audit report by December
The office of Justice Minister Rita Alarcão Júdice confirmed to the Lusa news agency that the conclusions of the audit into the Judicial Police (PJ) should be delivered to the ministry by year's end. The audit is being conducted by the General Inspection of Justice Services (IGSJ), according to reporting by Correio da Manhã.
"The audits and assessments mandated by the MJ are under way, being conducted by the competent entities with the technical autonomy and independence that are legally assured to them," the government stated, adding that "the priority is for the work to be completed with the greatest speed possible, without compromising the rigour and quality of the analysis".
Audits launched in August following controversies
The Ministry of Justice (MJ) announced on 6 August the opening of two audits into the PJ: one of an internal nature, requested by current national director Carlos Cabreiro, and a second, conducted in parallel by the IGSJ, an entity that regularly carries out inspections of bodies in the Justice sector.
The decision came in the wake of a series of controversies involving Luís Neves, former national director of the PJ and current Minister of Internal Administration. Pressure on Neves and on the Government has persisted for nearly two months, since the newspaper Nascer do Sol reported suspicions of irregularities in works carried out on a private property of the minister in Odemira. At issue is the construction of a swimming pool carried out by a contractor with ties of friendship to Neves, who won 17 times contracts for construction works at the PJ.
Trailer seized, court car and asset declarations
To the suspicions over the works in Odemira were added other cases. The same contractor, João Carvalho, owner of the company Construbarcelos, received into his custody a trailer seized by the PJ in the context of 'Operation Pacoba', an investigation into drug trafficking. The trailer contained drums with chemical substances inside. Luís Neves justified the situation with the high cost of destroying these materials and the alleged lack of funds of the PJ. The case prompted the Public Prosecution Service to open an investigation, which is why the MJ excluded this episode from the scope of the internal inquiries provided for in the audits.
It was also questioned whether Luís Neves had failed to submit to the Entity for Transparency nor to the Constitutional Court the asset declarations during the period in which he led the PJ — a legal obligation applicable to all holders of public office.
More recently, news emerged that the minister travels in a car seized in court proceedings that resulted in the conviction of Ruben Oliveira, known as 'Xuxas', to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking. At a PSP ceremony held in Madeira last Tuesday, Neves defended that the use of the vehicle has legal basis.
Three investigations in the Public Prosecution Service and proceedings in the Court of Auditors
This Thursday, on the sidelines of the swearing-in of the new president of the Court of Appeal of Évora, the Prosecutor General of the Republic, Amadeu Guerra, confirmed that three investigations are currently under way in the Public Prosecution Service related to Luís Neves. Two of them — the trailer case and the use of the seized car — have, according to Guerra, an urgent character. The third concerns the works in Odemira and is in charge of the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP) of Évora.
Regarding the same works in Odemira, an investigation is also under way in the Administrative and Tax Court (TAF) of Beja, confined to the "strictly administrative questions" of the case.
Amadeu Guerra also clarified that the proceedings pending in the Court of Auditors concerns a breach identified in a report dated 2023.
Source: Correio da Manhã