PSD deputy Joaquim Pinto Moreira, who was the target of house searches during Operation Vortex, declined to answer this Wednesday whether he plans to stay on as vice chairman of the bank and chairman of the constitutional review committee.
Questioned by journalists in parliament, at the end of a meeting of the Bureau and the coordinators of that eventual committee, Pinto Moreira sent all the clarifications to a communiqué he issued on Tuesday afternoon, but which did not mention these political issues.
“All due respect for your work, but yesterday I made statements through a communiqué and I refer to the communiqué which is absolutely clear. I calmly await developments from the judiciary with which I will cooperate if requested,” he said.
The deputy also said he was available for the immediate lifting of parliamentary immunity if requested, saying he did not know whether this request had yet reached parliament, nor whether he had been appointed as an arguido.
However, to the various questions from journalists whether he intends to keep the positions he holds on the bench and whether the president of the PSD is not weakened, Pinto Moreira replied only “good morning” to journalists, referring again to the communiqué , which is silent on these matters.
The mayor of Espinho, Miguel Reis (PS), an associate of the latter and three businessmen were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of active and passive corruption, subterfuge, abuse of power and influence in Operation Vortextold Lusa sources connected to the investigation.
In a statement, the PJ explained that these five people were detained after about two dozen searches and non-household searches, targeting the services of a local government, the residences of its employees and several businesses in the municipalities of Espinho (Aveiro). and Porto.
On Tuesday, Espinho Mayor Nuno Cardoso’s chief of staff told Lusa that “the investigation focuses mainly on urban operations carried out in the previous mandate”, a version disputed by Pinto Moreira, who led the municipality between 2009 and 2021.
In a statement, the PSD deputy confirms that his house has been searched and that his professional computer – which he uses as a lawyer – and his telephone have been seized.
“I do not have this information, but assuming that the investigation is carried out in secrecy from justice, I can say that the investigation context refers to the year 2022 and respects unfulfilled investment intentions and urban planning operations carried out in the current municipal mandate, even if may have carried over some from previous mandates,” he says.
The deputy sheriff rejected statements from Nuno Cardoso, who accused him of trying to “irresponsibly and inappropriately” divert the focus from an investigation he says is “definitely not at the epicenter”.
In the communiqué, Pinto Moreira declares “total availability to cooperate in the discovery of the truth and with the judicial authorities” and for the lifting of his parliamentary immunity.
Joaquim José Pinto Moreira was first elected as a deputy in the 2022 parliamentary elections, having become vice president of the Social Democratic Bank under Joaquim Miranda Sarmento after Luís Montenegro took over the PSD presidency.
Pinto Moreira was recently appointed by the PSD as chairman of the final constitutional revision committee, which took office on January 4.
Pinto Moreira has been one of Montenegro’s leading supporters in his rise to leadership, as he was one of the few prominent militants present when he challenged then-President Rui Rio to make an early call in January 2019.
Source: DN
