The hunt is on for people suspected of having bribed two female building inspectors employed by Olhão council after €33,000 in cash was confiscated from the home of one of them.
The cash was found during a police swoop earlier this week.
With both women now suspected of passive corruption and money-laundering, PJ investigators have let it be known that anyone involved in their alleged business scams will receive a reduced sentence if they come forward voluntarily.
Meantime, the bank accounts of both women - one a former head of department, aged 54, and the other, aged 41 - are being minutely analysed.
Suspicions, explains national tabloid Correio da Manhã, are that the pair took bribes in order to “look the other way” in instances of illegal building.
A complaint by a local resident who claims to have paid the duo €4,000 is what first set the PJ on their trail over a year ago, adds the paper.
As the probe continues, both women have been heard by DIAP (department of penal action and investigation) in Faro and are now free on the understanding that they remain in their area of residence.
They are both suspended from their duties at the town hall, prohibited from contacting each other and banned from entering council establishments.
Article by kind permission of http://portugalresident.com
