Who Paid for Montenegro's Brazilian Vacation? Investigation Uncovers Potential Scandal

Investigation Aims to Uncover Who Paid for Montenegro's Brazilian Vacation

The Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) and the Judicial Police (PJ) are investigating who paid for the Montenegro family's 2024 vacation in Brazil. Investigators suspect that these expenses may have been charged to Spinumviva, the family company of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, potentially violating the exclusivity regime he is bound to as head of government.

Details of the Investigation

The news from 'Sábado' indicates that evidence emerged following investigative procedures in the case, overseen by the Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP), as part of a preventive inquiry. Investigators have analyzed news and other documents from "open sources" (i.e., publicly available), thoroughly examined the first batch of documents sent by Luís Montenegro, and even conducted informal data collection in Espinho, with 'off the record' conversations with the city's so-called 'living forces'.

The investigation seeks more information but is currently at a standstill. According to various judicial sources, only with the opening of a formal inquiry will it be possible to analyze the bank accounts of the company and its partners (Luís Montenegro himself, his wife, and their two children), as well as issued invoices, cross-referencing them with incoming amounts to obtain a "global picture" of Spinumviva, the services provided, and the respective fees charged.

Official Statements and Responses

On Tuesday evening, half an hour after the 'Sábado' news was published online, the Attorney General's Office issued a clarification stating that "the preventive inquiry related to the company Spinumviva is ongoing." "The Public Prosecutor's Office is still awaiting documentation that will then require analysis. Thus, at this moment, there is no formed conviction that would allow the closure of the said preventive inquiry, nor has anything been proposed to the Attorney General of the Republic [Amadeu Guerra] in this domain," the note reads.

When questioned by 'Sábado' whether family expenses such as lunches, vacations, vehicle purchases, among others, were ever invoiced to Spinumviva, Luís Montenegro and the company did not respond. 'Sábado' directly asked Montenegro if the expense for the 2024 vacation in northeastern Brazil was invoiced to Spinumviva but received no answer.

Montenegro's Failure to Submit Documents

RTP reported this Wednesday that Luís Montenegro has not yet submitted the additional elements requested by the MP as part of the preventive inquiry into Spinumviva. On September 19, the PGR, Amadeu Guerra, revealed that the MP had requested "additional elements from the prime minister." At the time, Montenegro assured journalists that he would gather the requested documents and send them "as quickly as possible," but this has not happened. This Wednesday, the prime minister refused to say whether he had done so.

Spinumviva: A Controversial History

Spinumviva was established in January 2021, after Luís Montenegro left the law firm Sousa Pinheiro & Montenegro. In 2022, after being elected president of the PSD, Montenegro sold his share of the company to his wife, with their sons, Hugo and Diogo, remaining as partners. However, the regime of community of property to which his marriage was subject meant that, legally, Montenegro did not detach himself from the company, as he would also benefit from its proceeds.

The prime minister and his family eventually attempted to remedy the situation with Carla Montenegro's departure from the company's management bodies, leaving the company managed solely by their sons.

The controversy intensified with the revelation of the client list, which included Solverde, Rádio Popular, Ferpinta, Colégio Luso-Internacional do Porto, among others, and a gas station in Braga, Joaquim Barros Rodrigues & Filhos, which paid the company 194,000 euros (plus VAT) in 2022, owned by the father of João Rodrigues, the PSD candidate for the Braga City Council. Among Spinumviva's external collaborators was Inês Varajão Borges, married to the same João Rodrigues.