Lisbon Court overrules State Prosecutor – Galpgate case must continue

For those disappointed that the Galpgate case seemed to have fizzled out, with slaps on the wrist rather than criminal prosecutions, there have been developments…

The Lisbon Criminal Court of Appeal has rejected the request for the suspension of the ‘Galpgate’ case, the one involving three former secretaries of state, Fernando Rocha Andrade, João Vasconcelos and Jorge Costa Oliveira and the former adviser to the Prime Minister, Vitoria Escária, and others.

The four named above were charged with receiving undue advantage by accepting travel and tickets to Euro 2016 matches, courtesy of Galp Energia.

This beano did not come cheap, costing Galp €1,040 per person entertained at the group games and €1,710 for those watching the final.

In total, the company splashed out more than €150,000 to curry favour with these government officials – a sum willingly approved by Galp’s management.

Now that the Lisbon court has decided that the case will continue, the investigation will carry on into the circumstances surrounding the generous hospitality taken advantage of by the four main offenders, Carlos Costa Pina (a senior Galp figure and former secretary of state in the Sócrates government), six Galp officials and two mayors.

The over-ruling of the Public Prosecutor’s Office by the Lisbon court brings into question the original decision by the Prosecutor’s Office which decided there was no basis on which to charge the men and that a range of fines would bring the matter to an end.

At the time of the Euro 2016 contest, Galp was involved in a dispute with the government as the energy company was refusing to pay the special energy tax.

One concern is that this tax dispute could have involved Fernando Rocha Andrade in finding a solution as he then was the Secretary of State for Tax Affairs.

Former Secretaries of State, Rocha Andrade, João Vasconcelos and Jorge Costa Oliveira