The investigation that had been opened following a complaint that the Prime Minister Passos Coelho received money illegally from business Tecnoforma has been filed and no charges will be brought against the PM in this regard.
In a move that has left the PM’s detractors wrong-footed, the legal argument is valid. He can not be investigated for crimes or irregularities that could not possibly lead to a prosecution as the date they were allegedly committed is beyond the legal date for prosecution.
Passos Coelho broke his silence and announced in parliament, "I never received any money from Tecnoforma."
It was with this clarification that Pedro Passos Coelho opened this week’s fortnightly debate in Parliament, explaining his remuneration status as an MP in the 1990s, "The charges made against me are unfounded."
The Prime Minister announced that he asked the Attorney General's Office to clarify whether or not he had committed any illegalities regarding his legal and tax obligations when he was an MP - a request that was sent on Wednesday when he also promised to take "all the consequences."
"Before Parliament I reaffirm that I had the belief that there was nothing done that was not in accordance with my legal obligations. But as there is suspicion that this was not so, I asked the PGR to resolve this issue," said the PM.
Parliament was told that the Prime Minister confirmed his collaboration with Tecnoforma "for several years" after 2001, but has stressed that "receipts for everything" received were declared.
The anonymous tip-off about Pedro Passos Coelho’s alleged receipt of payments from Tecnoforma, which would have been illegal if he was under a contract exlusively to work only for the government as an MP, led to the investigation which now officially has been filed by the Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DCIAP).
The complaint in question stated that Passos Coelho received about €5,000 per month, totalling about €150,000, between 1997 and 1999 in his position as president of the Foundation Board of the Portuguese Council for Cooperation (CPPC), a non-governmental organisation created by Tecnoforma to raise public funds for its activities.
Passos Coelho was not allowed to receive any such payments as at the time he was on a type of contract that paid him an enhanced MP’s salary if he did not accept outside income.
The morally more damning aspect was the allegation that the current PM had failed to report this income on his tax returns at the time, thus depriving the tax department of its due payment.
The game of cat and mouse is by no means over as the lawyers working for the Publico newspaper will be advising their client of the next step in its mission to unmask any fraudulent actions or activities by the man who now leads the country.
The question over his status under the exclusivity agreement at least has been determined to help the PM with his amnesia as the Secretary General of Parliament, in compliance with the Law on Access to Administrative Documents, has revealed that Passos Coelho was aware from the beginning of his term, in 1996, that he could not do anything incompatible with the exclusivity agreement or have any other "activity / source of income / principal occupation" when an MP.
This was contained in an opinion from Parliament’s Ethics Committee, signed by its then chairman Videira Lopes who analysed the case of four MPs including one Passos Coelho, regarding external earnings.
The MPs has asked if they could earn interview fees from a government owned news channel. The answer was "no" as they all had exclusivity contracts.
In today’s debate in parliament, rabbit lover Luís Montenegro accused António José Seguro, head of the Socialist Party of asking to "scour the bank accounts" of the current prime minister, which he said exceeded the limits of decency for such noble men who dedicate themselves to public life.
In his speech today, Montenegro also argued that Pedro Passos Coelho "is not only an honest politician and an honest prime minister, he is the best suited person for the leadership of the Portuguese Government," and was revolted by what he called "political intrigue and innuendo" that "undermines democracy."
"What we see here today is the Secretary-General of the Partido Socialista asking you to scour the bank accounts of a citizen, a former legislator and now a prime minister.”
