GALP’s executive president Carlos Gomes da Silva has been officially cited as another of the suspects in the ongoing “football freebie probe” dubbed by the nation’s press as Galpgate.
Also joining the list of ‘arguidos’ is GALP director Carlos Costa Pina.
The news, released by Jornal de Negócios this morning, is now being rapidly picked up by other nationals, all of which are stressing Costa Pina’s former role as a Socialist party secretary of state during the governments of José Sócrates (himself involved in a protracted investigation into suspected multi-million euro corruption).
According to JdN, the Public ministry has confirmed that at issue is the “alleged practice of the crime of receipt of undue advantage”.
Galpgate now involves nine arguidos, three of them former secretaries of state with the current PS Socialist government (click here).
According to tabloid Correio da Manhã, the probe could end up citing “hundreds of political figures and public officials” (click here).
But in the meantime, GALP has responded to the turn of events saying: “GALP has been the national football team’s official sponsor since 1999. In this context, it invited people from all walks of life to games in which the team took part during the European 2016 championship”.
GALP’s political guests “joined in an open and transparent way” the various committees supporting the national team.
JdN recalls that the controversy is playing out against a backdrop where GALP has actually taken the State to court over disputed “extraordinary contributions” that it is refusing to pay, amounting to €270 million.
Earlier this summer, GALP’s executive president described his “surprise” at the way Galpgate was suddenly gaining steam a year after it appeared to have been swept under the carpet (click here).
“It is not only me who is surprised”, he said a little under three weeks ago. “The surprise is global. We will let the investigation develop serenely”.
At the time, Gomes da Silva stressed that no-one from the oil giant had been made an official suspect.
