Operation Lex has been spread across Portugal’s media in the past 48 hours, involving the arrest of prominent figures in the football and legal world.The Supreme Court of Justice has welcomed the operation, with the first round of questioning for five detainees starting on Wednesday and continuing today, Thursday February 1st, at the Lisbon court.
The five detainees, including two lawyers, were up before Judge Pires da Graça on Wednesday evening, were the first of 12 defendants in the case, who include judges Rui Rangel (pictured above) and Fátima Galante, Benfica football club president Luís Filipe Vieira and the club’s vice-president, Fernando Tavares.
The detainees spent the night in prison to ensure an early resumption of questioning in a case involving suspicions of corruption, money laundering, influence peddling and tax fraud.
In a police operation on Tuesday, 33 searches were carried out at homes, business premises including at two law firms, Sporting Lisbon and Benfica’s offices, Luís Filipe Vieira’s house and those of the two judges.
The investigation is a spin-off from Operation Rota do Atlântico, in which José Veiga is a defendant on suspicion of corruption in international trade, tax fraud, money laundering and influence peddling.
The main judge involved is Rui Rangel, 62, an Appeal Court judge in Lisbon, who is suspected of influence trafficking, corruption, receipt of undue advantage, money laundering and tax fraud.
Luís Filipe Vieira, 68, president of Benfica, is suspected of a crime of influence peddling and his vice-president, Fernando Tavares, is suspected of influence peddling because of his connection to Rui Rangel. José Santos Martins, a lawyer and friend of Rui Rangel, was arrested for conspiracy, as was his son.
Fátima Galante, Rui Rangel’s former wife and adjudicator in the Court of Appeal in Lisbon has been named but not arrested because of her status as a judge.
João Rodrigues, lawyer and former president of the Portuguese Football Federation also was accused by the Judical Police.
Judge Rui Rangel has long been involved in the murky world of fixers and businesses dealings where he is suspected of using his influence as a judge to sway colleagues.
Rui Rangel's position as the main defendant was spun out of the Rota do Atlântico case which involves José Veiga and Paulo Santana Lopes and the world of business where influence and privileged information are used by facilitators to sway judgements and fix problems - for a fee.
Veiga and Paulo Santana Lopes were involved in a diversity of areas including oil, hospital management, arms sales and the Bank of Cape Verde. Big deals and illicit payments to get things done have been backed up by the services of the judge, it is alleged.
Rui Rangel also is suspected of hiding his income from the taxman between 2012 and 2015 with the help of lawyer, José Bernardo Martins, his son, Fátima Galante, Rita Figueira and Albertino Figueira, who seem to have agreed to deposit his money in their bank accounts.
Operation Lex has 12 defendants so far, five of whom have been arrested and questioned, and involves money laundering crimes, tax fraud, influence peddling, corruption and misappropriation of assets.
