Inquiry into Santa Casa Management Resumes
The parliamentary inquiry into the strategic and financial management of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML) resumed on Tuesday with the hearing of Fernando Paes Afonso, who was part of the institution from 2002 to 2005 and served as vice-provedor from 2011 to 2016.
During his testimony, Paes Afonso revealed that there is an ongoing administrative and judicial initiative in the European Union aimed at challenging the monopoly of Santa Casa in state social games. He expressed concerns regarding Santa Casa's entry into the online gaming market, emphasizing that even during his tenure, the state's monopoly was already under scrutiny.
The inquiry committee aims to hear a total of 119 individuals, including three former provedor's: Pedro Santana Lopes, Edmundo Martinho, and Ana Jorge, as well as the current provedor Paulo de Sousa. The list also includes 19 members of the successive boards of SCML and 11 government officials.
Additionally, six unions, 34 individuals from other social bodies, and five from other leadership positions will be heard, along with 21 others responsible for managing SCML's subsidiaries and officials from the Cruz Vermelha Hospital and Parpública administration. Notably, the list features 16 relevant personalities and entities, including Nuno Rebelo de Sousa, the son of the President of the Republic, in his capacity as former president of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in São Paulo.
Lawyers and firms representing SCML in the internationalization of social games will also be called in for questioning.
Former provedor Pedro Santana Lopes has already responded in writing to the inquiry committee's questions, stating that the institution's losses, which initiated the parliamentary inquiry, have nothing to do with his six-year management. He lamented being the first to be heard in a process unrelated to the causes of the inquiry, which pertains to internationalization issues.
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