There have been 16 further arrests in the Air Force food fiddle in which military personnel agreed inflated prices with suppliers to military camps and split the difference.
An estimated €10 million in two years has been skimmed by crooked Air Force personnel and the arrests on Wednesday follow five arrests in November 2016 as Operation Zeus started. (Click HERE for Nov 2016 report.)
Of those arrested this week, a dozen are from the military and the remaining four are said to be from catering suppliers. Money and documents have been seized.
According to TVi after the 2016 arrests, about 30% of the Air Force food budget has been siphoned off over the past two years but the scam could go back further.
"Suppliers would deliver certain quantities of food, but the invoice value at the end of each month would be about three times that of the goods actually delivered. The difference between the amount invoiced and the actual products supplied would be divided up between those involved," said the State Prosecutor as Operation Zeus became public knowledge last autumn.
A major-general and a colonel are thought to be the masterminds behind this scam. Other ranks involved include a lieutenant colonel, one major, three captains and five sergeants.
The National Anti-Corruption Unit reported that one of those arrested last year said the corruption goes back 30 years.
In fact, it’s the testimonies of the men already arrested that led officers to the new batch who now are faced with charges of corruption, abuse of power and falsification of documents in the purchase of foodstuffs.
In the second phase of Operation Zeus, 130 members of the Judicial Police and ten prosecutors from the Public Prosecutor's Office participated in searches of homes and offices in Lisbon, Oporto, Santarém, Setúbal, Évora and Faro.
At the Monte Real air base alone, the investigation found that, in 11 months, five military personnel with management responsibilities divided €130,000 bewteen themselves.
The prosecutors have noted that the overbilling scheme was operating at almost all the military bases in the country, except for Ovar and the Açores.
