After nine months of investigation, the Portuguese public prosecutor’s office decided to archive the preventive investigation opened against the Social Democratic Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, after having found no evidence of the practice of a crime or of a risk that it could occur. This Wednesday, the Central Management of … The Lisbon-based Criminal Investigation and Action Company (DCIAP) issued a statement reporting the final closure of the case without the presentation of charges.
According to the public prosecutor, no irregularity was detected in the activity of the Spinumviva companylinked to the family environment of the Prime Minister, nor elements which support the existence of criminal behavior.
Luís Montenegro reacted to the filing of the file by emphasizing that the public prosecutor and the judicial police reached the same conclusion. “There were no signs of illegality or criminal evidence“, so all the procedures have been archived”, declared the head of the Portuguese government. In a statement made from Brussels, the Prime Minister insisted that he has always exercised his public functions “exclusively” and assured that he has not received any payment since he took on government responsibilities.
The preventive investigation began in March this year, when Montenegro was already serving as Prime Minister, with the aim of clarifying whether there were suspicions of crimes related to possible irregular payments made to Spinumviva by different entities. The complaints indicated that the company could have received sums that did not correspond to the services actually provided or that these were not sufficiently justified.
During the investigation, the public prosecutor’s office comprehensively analyzed all available documentation, including commercial registers, information from courts and conservatories, as well as data relating to the company’s customers. After this analysis, the prosecution concluded that there were no suspicions of a crime or elements justifying the continuation of the procedure.
The affair came to put Portugal’s political stability at stake during the first months of the mandate of the social democratic leader and generated strong pressure on the executive. From the beginning, Montenegro defended the legality of the activity of the family business and denied any type of irregularity, expressing its full willingness to collaborate with justice.
The matter gave rise to the vote of two motions of censure and a motion of confidence, the latter presented by Montenegro itself. The rejection of this initiative led to the fall of the government and the calling of early legislative elections, organized last May.
The elections ended with another victory for the conservative Democratic Alliance (DA) coalition, led by Montenegro, the defeat of the Socialist Party and the strong rise of the radical right Chega party.
Possible conflict of interest
Among Spinumviva’s client list, one of the most important contracts was the one it had with the Solverde group of companies, a Portuguese company dedicated to the operation of casinos and hotels. As revealed by the company itself and confirmed by the Portuguese press, Solverde paid Spinumviva a monthly fee of 4,500 euros for consulting services, mainly in terms of data protection and regulatory compliance. This contractual relationship, in place since at least 2021, continued even after Montenegro took office as Prime Minister and was used by the opposition to question possible conflicts of interest.
Montenegro then decided to leave the companywhich was left in the name of his children, from whom his wife also left. Spinumviva’s headquarters were located in the family home. With the filing of the investigation, the Public Prosecutor’s Office closes a case that fueled the political and media debate in Portugal for months and which marked the start of the current legislature.
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