Algarve fraudster Luís Estiveira, a 58 year old Portuguese businessman, who was on the run after being sentenced to seven years in prison for nine crimes of aggravated document forgery, has been arrested in Brazil.
The suspect was in a restaurant in the city of João Pessoa, Brazil, when he was detained by the Federal Police after being on the run, wanted by Portuguese police and with an Interpol Red Diffusion alert.
The Federal Police of Brazil reported that the arrest was carried out with the support of the Special Action Group Against Organized Crime (Gaeco/MPPB) and the Civil Police of Paraíba.
The businessman will be handed over to Brazilian authorities to be extradited to Portugal.
The Portimão court had convicted the man for using false bank guarantees to purchase fuel from oil companies, through the consignment system. Previously, he had already been convicted of the same crimes in Faro. The scheme, which took place in 2010 and 2011, was dismantled by the Judiciary Police (PJ) in 2014.
The forged bank guarantees, coming from a local bank, included the banking institution's seal and the signatures of two administrators, allegedly forged by the defendant. To provide greater credibility, the guarantees were authenticated by a notary. Through this scheme, which involved the participation of three defendants, the businessman managed to acquire, from Sopor (currently Petrogal) and CEPSA, approximately one million euros in fuel, the supply of which was never paid for, according to reports.
At the time the trial was taking place, Luís Estiveira vehemently denied having falsified the bank guarantees, claiming to be the victim of a conspiracy on the part of the oil companies.
Source https://postal.pt/
