José Sócrates filed a criminal complaint against Republic prosecutor Rosário Teixeira, a magistrate from the Public Ministry who led the investigations into Operation Marquis. The criminal filing, which was submitted to the Attorney General's Office in Lisbon, charges the magistrate with continuing crimes including denial of justice, abuse of power and falsification of documents in the exercise of his duties, opening a new front of confrontation between the former socialist government leader and the official responsible for the inquiry that led to his preventive detention nearly 12 years ago.
Sócrates' defense argues that the prosecutor concealed facts, manipulated evidentiary elements and distorted procedural records to support the prosecution's thesis. The complaint points to irregularities in the conduct of interrogations, in the selective inclusion of telephone wiretaps and in access to banking documentation from abroad, as well as alleged distortion of dates and court rulings to justify maintaining inquiry deadlines that, according to the defense, had already expired.
Rosário Teixeira became the central figure in the investigation of Operation Marquis, an inquiry that culminated in charges of corruption, tax fraud and money laundering. The magistrate, who was assigned to DCIAP for years, signed the rulings that determined property searches, account freezes and the arrest of the former prime minister at Lisbon airport in November 2014. Throughout the process, he maintained the thesis that there was a concerted plan to favor Grupo Espírito Santo and Grupo Lena in exchange for illicit financial benefits held in foreign accounts.
It now falls to the competent department of the Attorney General's Office to analyze the admissibility of the complaint and decide on opening an independent inquiry to investigate the magistrate's conduct. This
