Carris President Accused of Forging Elevator Maintenance Contract After Lisbon Tragedy

In a shocking turn of events, the direct adjustment contract for the maintenance of Lisbon's elevators has come under intense scrutiny, raising serious doubts about the statements made by Pedro Bogas, president of Carris, during a press conference held the day after the tragic accident at the Elevador da Glória.

During the conference, Bogas promised to provide journalists with a "copy of the contract" to prove the legal validity of services rendered by MNTC. However, what was distributed was not a signed contract but a forged draft with black bars covering areas where signatures should be, making it appear as an anonymized copy. Only after insistence from PÁGINA UM did Carris send a version with handwritten signatures from administrators Pedro Bogas and Maria Lopes Duarte, but discrepancies suggest the initial document was a fabrication.

Pedro Bogas, president of Carris, claimed to provide a contract copy but instead presented a forged draft with black bars to hide non-existent signatures.

The controversial contract, allegedly signed on August 20 to cover elevator maintenance services after the previous contract expired on August 31, was displayed as proof that maintenance and inspection were secured. Yet, analysis reveals that the black bars in the initial version were too small to cover the signatures, indicating it was unsigned at the time of the press conference.

Left: Last page of the 'contract' given to journalists yesterday. Right: Last page sent to PÁGINA UM today, showing signatures and rubrics, proving the initial was a fake.

The version sent to PÁGINA UM still has a bar over the signature of MNTC's manager, which should be visible for the contract to be valid, as public contracts do not allow identity protection under data privacy laws. This raises suspicions about the actual timeline of the contract's signing and whether it was backdated.

Given the gravity of the Elevador da Glória accident, which resulted in 16 deaths and over 20 injuries, the absence of a valid contract at the time could have massive legal and compensatory implications. If no contract was in place, Carris may have operated the elevators without proper maintenance coverage, potentially leading to civil and criminal liabilities.

PÁGINA UM has requested the minutes of the Carris Board of Administration meeting from August 14, cited in the alleged contract as the date of adjudication, but no response has been provided, adding to the uncertainty and potential for this to become a police case.