The Golden Visa trial process for 17 defendants identified in Operation Labyrinth will start on April 8th.
'Super Judge' Carlos Alexandre today confirmed the date for the trial of the former Interior Minister Miguel Macedo, the former national director of the Aliens and Borders Service, Manuel Jarmela Palos, the former president of the Institute of Registries and Notaries, António Figueiredo and the former Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice, Maria Antonia Anes and others.
During the preliminary hearings which took place in the Central Criminal Court, the judge said that the deadline for the defendant António Figueiredo expires on the 18th of this month and as he is under house arrest with an electronic bracelet he could be freed if the trial date was not announced.
In total, 17 defendants have been charged with using the Golden Visa process for personal gain with mostly Chinese applicants being fast-tracked on payment of additional fees and the abuse of the system by those in charge by personally intervening in the application process for those they knew or had been persuaded should be given preferential treatment.
Operation Labyrinth involved office and house searches and resulted in 11 arrests in November 2014. The investigators looked for evidence of active and passive corruption, improper receipt of benefit, prevarication, embezzlement, abuse of power and influence peddling.
The minister in charge, Miguel Macedo, resigned over the affair while stating that he had nothing to do with any corrupt practices but as he was in charge, the the buck stopped with him
Macedo later was arrested and faces trial in April along with the others who may have taken personal advantage of the Golden Visa rules put in place by Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas.
