With the long-running Marquês corruption probe due to close on Friday, former prime minister José Sócrates is back at DCIAP headquarters in Lisbon today, being confronted with “new facts”, claims national tabloid Correio da Manhã pointing towards his having received bribes of €32.8 million.
The paper that has been accused by Sócrates’ defence team of hounding their client beyond the call of duty claims former BES ‘boss-of-all-this’ Ricardo Salgado paid Sócrates €29 million, Group Lena €2.8 million and the Algarve’s Vale do Lobo resort €1 million – for various favours.
Prosecutors’ ‘evidence’ is to be put to Sócrates today, giving him the opportunity of “countering the Public Ministry’s understanding” of the purported ‘new facts’ in this investigation.
Once the probe hits its Friday deadline, CM says the 25 arguidos (official suspects) will then receive notification of charges to be levelled against them on the following Monday (March 20).
Only last week, Lena executive president Joaquim Paulo de Conceição was cited as a new arguido, with suggestions that Sócrates’ cousin José Paulo Pinto de Sousa could be next (click here).
