Former socialist minister Armando Vara was arrested this Monday, November 17th, in Lisbon, by the PSP, to begin serving his prison sentence, and was subsequently taken to the Lisbon Prison Establishment, according to the SIC News.
In the indictment, the Public Prosecutor’s Office argues that José Sócrates and Armando Vara, who would eventually be appointed administrator of CGD at the end of 2005, were bribed a total of two million euros by two investors in the Algarve resort of Vale do Lobo to benefit the luxury development.
The imputation is based on the assumption that Armando Vara was appointed to the administration on the instructions of José Sócrates, an allegation that, in the September 4 session of the trial, the former prime minister countered was false.
José Sócrates, Armando Vara and the two investors from Vale de Lobo are four of the 21 defendants in Operation Marquês and are mostly responsible for corruption and money laundering.
The 21 defendants have, in general, denied committing the 117 economic and financial crimes that are globally attributed to them by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The trial began on July 3 at the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon and has sessions scheduled until at least December 18, 2025.