PJ national director accused of lying in court over allegedly unlawful surveillance – Portugal Resident

The national director of Portugal’s criminal investigation force, the Polícia Judiciária, has been reported to prosecutors over allegations that he gave false evidence in court and ordered surveillance previously refused by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The complaint concerns Carlos Cabreiro — not his predecessor, Luís Neves, who has been facing separate allegations over his years as national director — and an operation carried out during the investigation that identified Football Leaks hacker Rui Pinto.

According to an exclusive report by Expresso, the criminal complaint was submitted on July 27 by David Freitas, a PJ coordinator with more than 30 years’ experience. It alleges possible abuse of power and false statements to a court.

The office of Attorney General Amadeu Guerra has confirmed receiving the complaint and said it had been forwarded to Lisbon’s Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP).

At the centre of the case is a 2015 meeting at a petrol station in Oeiras involving Aníbal Pinto, who was then Rui Pinto’s lawyer; Doyen Sports owner Nélio Lucas; and lawyer Pedro Henriques.

At the time, Rui Pinto had extracted thousands of documents from the sports investment company and was allegedly seeking €300,000 to “cooperate” with it. The PJ did not yet know his identity, and information obtained during the meeting is believed to have proved decisive in identifying him.

David Freitas, who more recently joined the PJ unit responsible for surveillance and technological support, says he found a mission order requesting that Aníbal Pinto be monitored and recorded using environmental listening devices.

The order came from the PJ’s cybercrime unit, then headed by Carlos Cabreiro, despite such surveillance allegedly having been refused by prosecutors.

Freitas also discovered an operational report stating that several devices had been placed on the injured party and a cooperating individual — understood to be Nélio Lucas and Pedro Henriques — and that they had worked effectively.

These documents appear to contradict evidence given during the trial of Rui Pinto and Aníbal Pinto. PJ witnesses repeatedly denied that the meeting had been recorded, saying the information came from two inspectors who had been present at the service station and overheard the conversation.

One of them, inspector Aida Freitas, told the court that she had heard nothing because she was too far away. She also said she had signed the operational report without reading it.

Cabreiro, appearing as a witness, criticised her “lack of professionalism” and denied that the surveillance unit had taken part in the operation. He presented a briefing document in which the unit was not mentioned and said no listening devices had been used.

Aida Freitas — who is married to David Freitas — was subsequently prosecuted for making false statements. Her trial has concluded, but the verdict is not due until September 18. Her lawyer has asked for proceedings to be reopened so that the newly-discovered documents can be admitted as evidence.

David Freitas told prosecutors there is a “clear discrepancy” between the documentary record and the testimony given in court, leaving it to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to decide whether the facts justify opening a criminal inquiry.

Aníbal Pinto, whose two-year sentence for extortion is now final, has also complained to the Prosecutor-General’s Office and the justice minister. He said that, if Cabreiro is found to have lied in court, he is no longer fit to lead the PJ.

Cabreiro declined to answer Expresso’s questions on this development. In a written response, the PJ said its national director had no knowledge of the complaint and had answered all questions put to him as a witness on matters within his knowledge.

The allegations carry uncomfortable echoes of the controversy that developed around former PJ national director Luís Neves earlier this summer — although it remains to be seen whether this complaint triggers similar scrutiny of his successor. 

Source: Expresso