Luís Montenegro's Family Business Under Investigation: What You Need to Know

Investigation into Spinumviva

The Public Ministry (MP) is set to request activity, billing, and client contracts documents from Spinumviva, the family company of Luís Montenegro, at the center of the case leading to the government's downfall.

The General Prosecutor's Office has initiated a preventive inquiry, which will also involve documentation requests from known clients regarding services provided by Spinumviva, previously connected to the Prime Minister and his wife, Carla Montenegro, now exclusively under their children's name.

Among these clients are Grupo Solverde (which has since severed ties), Rádio Popular, Colégio Luso-Internacional do Porto (Clip), Ferpinta, and Grupo Sofarma. These are the 'third-party entities' referenced by Prosecutor General Amadeu Guerra following the confirmation of an anonymous tip received on March 3 regarding the Spinumviva case.

Preventive Inquiry Details

Guerra explained that the inquiry is not based on sufficient grounds to open a full investigation yet. Instead, it will utilize open-source methods and requests to third parties, who may choose to comply. He noted that the inquiry could take as long as necessary to assess whether there is enough evidence for a full investigation.

When asked about the suspected crimes, the PGR declined to provide further details but reiterated that a preventive inquiry was opened to deepen the evidence collection and analysis of the received allegations. This inquiry is managed by the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DCIAP).

Anonymous Tip and Other Allegations

One of the three allegations was an anonymous tip, primarily consisting of a copy of a February 27 article from Expresso, which reported Solverde was paying €4,500 monthly to Montenegro's family business. Another allegation concerns suspicions of illegal solicitation related to Spinumviva, which has prompted inquiries by the Order of Lawyers in Porto.

Illegal solicitation is a semi-public crime, meaning the MP can only open a criminal inquiry if a complaint is filed by someone with the authority to do so, such as the Order of Lawyers or a victim of the solicitation, which in this case would be Spinumviva's clients.

Ana Gomes' Involvement

Furthermore, a complaint has been filed by Ana Gomes, a former presidential candidate. She confirmed to the Observador that she submitted a communication to the European Prosecutor's Office regarding her concerns over the lax supervision of casinos. She sent her complaint on March 10, and the European authorities acknowledged receipt. Gomes expressed her worries about a weak system for controlling money laundering in a vulnerable sector, emphasizing that her complaint extends beyond the government crisis, addressing ethical issues surrounding Montenegro's company, which received funds from a sector prone to money laundering.