The Porto City Council says that the searches by the Judiciary Police (PJ) that, this Tuesday morning, “occurred in the municipal services of Urbanism do not target the municipality”.
“They are, yes, related to private companies that have urban processes to be processed by the Porto City Council (CMP), as in other municipalities”, he clarifies in a statement, confirming that, “at this moment, two mobile phones are being analyzed by the PJ” .
One of these cell phones belongs to the CMP councilor for Urbanism who, in statements to journalists, denied being among the 12 defendants in Operation Babel.
“The object of the ongoing investigation is not the Porto City Council, it is a private company that has several urban processes in various municipalities, at least one of which concerns the Porto municipality”, says Hugo Baganha.
“Of course, Porto City Council, as is its obligation, is actively collaborating in the investigation of the PJ and this is the information we have so far.”
Asked about the fact that his mobile phone had been seized, the councilor from Porto explained that “it is not a matter of being seized”.
“The PJ is carrying out several steps to collect digital information, at workstations and on telephones, it will collect this information and return the equipment”, explained Hugo Baganha.
According to Public newspapertargeted in the operation was also the head of the Urbanism division, Sandra Salazar, whose department, located in the Post Office building, was also searched by the authorities.
“Porto City Council remains cooperative with the investigation”, reads the document sent to Renaissance.
This Tuesday, the Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested seven people in a search operation in the Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia City Councils, within the scope of Operation Babel.
According to information gathered by the Renaissanceone of the detainees is the vice-president of the municipality of Gaia, Patrocínio Azevedo.
In a statement, the PJ informs that “55 home and non-domestic searches were carried out in various areas of the country, in municipalities and various public services, as well as companies related to the urban universe”.
“Twelve defendants have already been appointed”, including “a political office holder, two municipal services employees, an employee of the Northern Regional Directorate of Culture, two businessmen and a liberal professional, indicted for the commission of crimes of undue receiving or offering of advantage, active and passive corruption, prevarication and abuse of power practiced by and on officials or holders of political office”, the document reads.
At stake is the “violation of norms and instruction of urban licensing processes in favor of promoters associated with high density and magnitude projects, involving real estate interests in the order of 300 million euros, through the offer and acceptance of counterparts of a nature pecuniary”, states the document.
[atualizado às 13h20]
Source: Renascença – Noticias by rr.sapo.pt.
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