The police are investigating a scam at hospital canteens in Lisbon, Almada, Setúbal, Oeiras, Portimão and Faro with dozens of officers swooping on Tuesday, 7th Febuary.
The anti-corruption unit of the Judicial Police is investigating the massive contracts fiddle covering concessions for the hpspital in-house coffee shops. Inspectors today carried out searches and collected bundles of documents as part of Operation Clean Dishes.
The case centres around a state employee at the Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa, Natércia Pina, and her husband, Manuel Cleto, a businessman to whom she supplied public tender documents from competitors.
Natércia Pina was able to obtain information on proposals from companies applying to run hospital bars and cafeterias and the allegation is that she managed to get her husband the contracts at a lower price by ditching the other offers.
The police say this scam has cost the government around €2 million.
The couple aroused no suspicion at all as they were well known in hospital circles, indeed they were politically well connected within the Social Democratic party and, anyway, the companies that mysteriously kept getting the contracts to run the concessions were run by third parties, usually relatives.
Natércia Pina is the coordinator of the 'Social Democratic Women of Oeiras' and is, or rather 'was,' a pillar of the community.
