Former mayor of VRSA accused of embezzling over €548,000 – Portugal Resident
Former Vila Real de Santo António mayor Conceição Cabrita has been charged with embezzlement by Portuguese prosecutors over an alleged €548,000 scheme involving fake social support payments.
According to the Regional Department of Investigation and Criminal Action of Évora (DIAP Évora), prosecutors believe Cabrita used money transferred by the council to a local charity association to hand out cash and pay bills for selected residents.
The president of the association has also been charged with the same offence.
Prosecutors say the alleged scheme operated between 2016 and 2020 and caused losses of over €548,000 to the municipality. As a result, they are asking the court to order the repayment of that amount to the State and requesting the additional penalty of banning the defendants from holding local government office.
According to the indictment, the municipality transferred funds to the association through yearly cooperation agreements intended for other purposes.
Prosecutors allege the money was then used to provide cash payments and cover expenses for residents chosen by the former mayor, even though there was no legal framework allowing those payments.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office claims the two defendants created a system to disguise the origin of the money by presenting it as social support provided by the association.
According to prosecutors, the association’s president withdrew cash from the organisation’s accounts following instructions from Cabrita, who then allegedly handed the money personally to residents.
The indictment also alleges that the association used municipal funds to pay utility bills and healthcare expenses for selected residents, including water, electricity, gas and medical costs.
The charges come several years after Cabrita was arrested by Portugal’s PJ police in April 2021 as part of Operation Triangle, an investigation into alleged irregularities linked to a property deal in Monte Gordo. She later resigned as mayor following the investigation.
Conceição Cabrita was mayor of Vila Real de Santo António between 2017 and 2021 after serving as deputy mayor to Luís Gomes.
Source: LUSA
