The Guimarães Court of Appeal (TRG) annulled the ruling that acquitted Miguel Alves, former mayor of Caminha, and businesswoman Manuela Sousa. This is the first of its kind order to correct the nullity and issue a new decision.
Acquittal of Former Mayor and Businesswoman
On February 15, the Court of Viana do Castelo acquitted the former mayor, who had resigned from his position as Deputy Secretary of State to then Prime Minister António Costa after learning of the charges. The mayor, along with Manuela Sousa, was accused of prevarication.
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The alleged crime involved the contracting of communication consultancy services for the municipality to companies owned by the businesswoman, without any public procurement procedure. Later, the court found both not guilty of the charges.
Declare the appealed decision null and void, and the case must return to the first instance for a new final decision to be drawn up, if necessary with recourse to the repetition of evidence.
This response addresses one point of the accusation concerning the amounts charged (3,000 euros + VAT) by one of Manuela Sousa’s companies to the local authority for communication consultancy services provided in July 2014, according to the ruling by the TRG.
Legal Proceedings and Findings
Additionally, the TRG states that this point of the accusation does not appear in the proven or unproven facts; it is only partially implied in the unproven fact. The Guimarães Court of Appeal further highlights:
In any case, the value attributed by Mediana to the services provided in July 2014 is neither proven nor unproven, although it is not an innocuous detail in the economy of the accusation, where it is expressly alleged, since it constitutes a complement and framework of the matter contained therein, which was even considered proven in point 25 of the judgment.
Guimarães Court of Appeal Overturns Ruling: Justifications
However, the judges stress that
This omission does not constitute a decisional defect, as alleged in the appeal [by the Public Prosecutor’s Office], but a partial violation of the duty to provide reasons, which required the statement as proven or not proven of all the facts described in the accusation.
Furthermore, the court justified:
Therefore, it is urgent to declare the [first instance] ruling null and void, ordering the issuing of a new decision that, free from the aforementioned defect, fills the gap identified, removing the criminal-legal consequences that are deemed appropriate. This cannot be done in this instance, as the omission detected does not allow us to know the true meaning of this point of the appealed decision.
Accusation of Malfeasance
The Guimarães Court of Appeal annulled the ruling in which the Viana do Castelo Court had found the Public Prosecutor’s accusation unproven. The court further ruled that no evidence supported the accusation of co-authorship in malfeasance against the former PS mayor and the businesswoman.
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Additionally, the presiding judge stated that the malfeasance charge collapsed because the court found no irregularities in the public tender the local authority launched to contract advisory and communication services for Manuela Sousa’s companies.
Indictment Details
The indictment by the Public Prosecutor’s Office alleges that, in 2014, Miguel Alves and Manuela Sousa, who at the time used the surname Couto, engaged in discussions to provide communication, image management, and consultancy services to the local authority.
Sousa intended to provide these services through the companies MIT and Mediana, which she owned and controlled. Allegedly, she delivered the services without any formal contracts or proper accounting documentation.
