Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 12^th July 2023

Good morning everyone, Well the good news is that our new Facebook group: Safe Communities Portugal Protection against Natural Disasters now has a membership approaching 500 – not bad considering it was only launched on Saturday.

I am pleased with this because in some respects it fills a vacuum here in Portugal, setting it apart from other social media in English, in that our new group is mainly focused on risk awareness, preparation aimed at reducing the impact of disasters, whereas on others are mainly concern fires once they have started.

Ewe are therefore following the UN Disaster Risk Reduction, the SANDAI Framework of which Portugal is a signatory, and importantly the priority be given to this by the Portuguese government.

We cannot prevent natural disasters, but there are some we can reduce, and certainly we can help reduce the impact on life and property.

We really encourage everyone to become a member, as in Portugal we face many risks regarding in terms of more intense fires and unpredictable and extreme weather. If we can understand this better we can come to live with it, knowing we have done our best to be prepared.

Safe Communities has received correspondence concerning holiday scams which have taking place some resulting the loss of a considerable amount to the property letting company. Others where the client has been scammed. There are a number of different methods, but the advice is the same, namely for owners/letting companies not to part to let a property without ensuring the payment has been received. Be aware of so called clients seeking rentals starting on the same, day especially a Friday, when bank payments can only be cleared on the Monday.

For clients please undertake research especially for properties advertised on social media. If the price is too good to be true it probably is!

Please be reminded that due to a CP strike, nationwide strong disruption in the circulation of trains are expected on 14th of July, with a possible impact on the days before and after the strike period. Check with CP first.

There has been some great work by the police in the last few days, with a crackdown on gangs in particular yesterday with over 27 arrested in an operation by the PSP against firearms traffickers. Very good work indeed.

Lastly remember that from the affixing of the car insurance sign on the car window is no longer mandatory as of Tuesday July 11, according to a law published this Monday in Diário da República , which also eliminates the associated fines for not doing so.

“This law eliminates the obligation to display the motor insurance label and proceeds with the second amendment of Decree-Law No. by Decree-Law n.º 153/2008, of August 6”, refers to Law n.º 32/2023, published this Monday.

A reminder we are now on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram so please check us out there.

Our team at Safe Communities wish you a very happy and safe week ahead. Take care with higher temperatures and remember to drink plenty of water to keep hydrated.

News

PJ detains bank employee for passive corruption in the private sector and money laundering

The assistant manager of a national banking institution allegedly operated in a criminal network based on the creation of shell companies and also on the creation of bank accounts for foreign citizens to obtain credit with false documentation.

This Tuesday, the Judiciary Police carried out six house searches, non-house searches and one arrest in Lisbon, within the scope of Operation Orange II, on suspicion of committing crimes of passive corruption in the private sector and money laundering in Lisbon

The home and non-domestic searches in the Greater Lisbon area led to an arrest by the PJ “because there are strong suspicions of the practice of crimes of passive corruption in the private sector, money laundering, qualified fraud, document forgery and breach of secrecy”.

The man arrested is 43 years old and holds a high position in a national banking institution.

The Judiciary Police carried out the arrest for alleged suspicions that the sub-manager “provided information of a banking nature to elements of a transnational network that has been dedicated to money laundering since, at least, the year 2019, receiving high monetary amounts in return”.

“The modus operandi of this criminal network was based on the creation of shell companies, in Belgium and Portugal, formed using the commonly known “front men” and the subsequent opening of bank accounts”, reads the statement.

These companies, according to the PJ, were mostly associated with the civil construction area and did not develop, in practice, what they were intended for.

They were then used for the “issuance of false invoicing” which would be a cover-up for bank transfers received with a value greater than 20 million euros.

In addition, the detained assistant manager requested bank credits by opening accounts for foreign citizens, non-residents, using false documentation.

In view of this, and present at the first judicial interrogation, coercive measures were applied to suspend the exercise of the profession and prohibit contact with the defendant.