The Prime Minister, António Costa, said on Thursday that he followed Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho’s clarification on his role in the defense by ruling out any link with alleged cases of corruption.
“The Foreign Minister has already had the opportunity to make a statement,” António Costa said upon arrival at the European Union Southern Mediterranean summit in Malta, when asked about the alleged links of João Gomes Cravinho with the controversial contract. with former Minister of Foreign Affairs Marco Capitão Ferreira.
When asked by the Portuguese press whether he followed this comment, the head of government said: “Certainly, if the statement comes from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, then it is from the entire government.”
João Gomes Cravinho stressed that he can still remain in the position of foreign minister.
“The circumstances [para continuar no cargo de ministro] they are exactly the same as before there was a headline in the newspaper,” said João Gomes Cravinho, who accompanies António Costa to Malta today.
Expresso reports today that one of the defendants in the ‘Perfect Storm’ case, Paulo Branco, then responsible for finance at the Directorate General of National Defense Assets, involved João Gomes Cravinho in the case of the consultancy contract worth about 50,000 euros. celebrated with Marco Capitão Ferreira.
In a now-released response, the Foreign Minister “vehemently and unequivocally” denied any link with alleged cases of corruption in Defense, reiterating that he was not involved in the controversial contract with former Foreign Minister Marco Capitão Ferreira.
In the ministry’s note, the previous holder of the Defense Portfolio again rejects the idea of having been involved in the contract signed between the Directorate General of National Defense Assets and Marco Capitão Ferreira.
According to the weekly, Paulo Branco stated that then Defense Minister João Gomes Cravinho had “agreed” or even “asked” to enter into a consultancy contract with Captain Ferreira to compensate him and “catch up on the bills” for work. carried out in a ‘ghost committee’ that operated within the sphere of influence of his office.
This accusation is denied by João Gomes Cravinho to Expresso.
In the statement sent to the press today, the Foreign Minister reiterates his responses to the newspaper and again makes public statements on the matter, made at the parliamentary headquarters.
“I strongly and unequivocally reject the suggestion in the headline of the Expresso newspaper,” João Gomes Cravinho said today.
Source: DN
