Former Aveiro ULS president in pre-trial detention until Monday on corruption charges
Ricardo Correia de Matos remains in custody until the judge announces the precautionary measures. The two businessmen detained in Operation Batas & Betão were released.
Former Aveiro ULS president awaits precautionary measures in prison
Ricardo Correia de Matos, former chairman of the board of directors of the Local Health Unit (ULS) of Aveiro, will remain in custody at least until Monday, when the investigating judge will announce the precautionary measures to be applied in the case. The information was reported by sicnoticias.pt, based on data confirmed by PÚBLICO.
The Public Prosecution Service requested a custodial measure for the former hospital executive — that is, pre-trial detention or home detention. Correia de Matos was arrested by the Judicial Police last week as part of Operation Batas & Betão, on suspicion of abuse of influence and corruption.
The two businessmen who were also arrested in the same operation were released this Friday. They will return to court on Monday morning to learn of the precautionary measures. The Public Prosecution Service did not request custodial measures for these defendants, and in similar circumstances judges tend not to prolong deprivation of liberty before a final decision.
Correia de Matos and one of the businessmen chose to make statements during the judicial interrogation. The other contractor remained silent. The interrogations took place on Thursday afternoon — delayed from the scheduled time due to bad weather expected for Wednesday. The three detainees are aged between 44 and 51 years old and were identified before the investigating judge on Tuesday.
On the same Tuesday, the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, decided to dismiss Correia de Matos from the position he held at the Aveiro ULS, one day after his arrest.
According to the authorities, the suspect allegedly established a scheme with two businessmen friends to award them contracts at the Order of Nurses and the Red Cross, institutions where he held management positions. In return, these businessmen allegedly built him a residence at Praia da Barra, still unfinished. A lawyer from Lisbon is also believed to be involved in a parallel scheme, aimed at obtaining contracts for the provision of legal services.
To simulate competition in the procurement procedures, the companies to be invited were chosen beforehand. Investigators also believe that Correia de Matos — a nurse and accountant — may have sometimes signed two contracts for the same service, allowing substantial amounts to be diverted from the organisations he controlled.
It is not the first time that Correia de Matos's name has been associated with financial irregularities. He was one of 13 defendants tried in the case of alleged embezzlement of €63,000 from the Order of Nurses, in a process involving the current chairman, Luís Filipe Barreira, and the then chairwoman, Ana Rita Cavaco. Correia de Matos was at that time president of the regional section for the Centre and was a member, ex officio, of the order's management council. The defendants were acquitted in November of last year, due to judges' doubts about whether the crimes were committed. The Public Prosecution Service had announced an appeal, but an error in calculating the deadline made its submission impossible.
Source: Google News PT — Crime (pt)