False TVDE licences (for drivers of Uber-type vehicles) on sale for €200

Portuguese authorities are investigating a scheme, operating in Brazil and Guinea Bissau,  offering licences for TVDE vehicles (Uber-type) on payment of between €200 – €500. The fraud means ‘drivers’ don’t have to pass theory or practical exams. It began over social media and appears to involve people in other Portuguese-speaking countries, writes Expresso. IMT (the institute of mobility and transport) is aware of the situation, but so far it is not known if, (or how many) are the number of drivers in Portugal, ferrying citizens around, when they are not properly licensed to do so. This is the second alert of TVDE fraud this week: earlier the TVDE drivers association itself alerted to signs of ‘human trafficking’ in the sector, with drivers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan becoming TVDE drivers within two weeks of arriving in this country. In other words, “the licences definitely aren’t theirs”, says association president Ângela Reis.