Algarve Included in Major Corruption Probe Over Wildfire Contracts

The Judicial Police (PJ) conducted searches in homes, commercial company headquarters, and accounting offices this Thursday as part of an investigation into public tenders related to rural firefighting, with operations also taking place in the Algarve.

Under the operation named “Control Tower”, the PJ, through the National Unit for Combating Corruption, launched a police operation to execute 28 search and seizure warrants across the districts of Lisbon, Beja, Faro, Castelo Branco, Porto, and Bragança. The investigation targets potential crimes including active and passive corruption, qualified fraud, abuse of power, influence peddling, criminal association, and qualified tax fraud.

The probe focuses on a complex network of commercial companies, based in Portugal, suspected of controlling participation in public tenders for rural firefighting services, valued at approximately 100 million euros. These tenders concern the acquisition of services for the operation, maintenance, and management of airworthiness of state-owned aerial means dedicated exclusively to the Special Device for Fighting Rural Fires (DECIR). The PJ alleges that this manipulation aims to leave the Portuguese state short of aerial means, forcing it to accept higher prices from these companies.

During the operation, several individuals and legal entities were named as defendants. A total of 140 inspectors and 45 police specialists from the Financial and Accounting Expertise Unit and the Technological and IT Expertise Unit of the PJ participated, alongside seven Public Prosecutors, five members of the Technical Support Unit of the Attorney General's Office, and five representatives from the Competition Authority.

The PJ has confirmed that the investigation will continue.