Miguel Alves. Court denies MP's appeal and upholds acquittal

The Guimarães Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal filed by the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) regarding the acquittal of former Caminha City Council Mayor Miguel Alves and businesswoman Manuela Sousa of the crime of malfeasance.

In the ruling dated Thursday and to which Lusa had access this Friday, the judges of the Guimarães Court of Appeal denied all the claims of the MP's appeal, maintaining the acquittal of the former mayor, who in 2022 resigned from his post as Deputy Secretary of State to then Prime Minister António Costa after learning of the accusation.

Manuela Sousa was also accused in this case, also for malfeasance, a crime allegedly committed in the contracting of communication consultancy services for the municipality to companies owned by the businesswoman “without any public procurement procedure”, according to the MP's indictment.

On November 15, 2024 , the Court of Viana do Castelo once again acquitted Miguel Alves and Manuela Sousa of the crime of malfeasance, after correcting a “detail” in the first decision handed down in February.

An appeal by the Public Prosecutor's Office, at the end of September 2024, led the Guimarães Court of Appeal to annul the first ruling by the Viana do Castelo Court which, on February 15, acquitted the former mayor and the businesswoman.

The appeals court judges ordered the first instance to correct a nullity and issue a new decision.

The court considered that there was no need to repeat the production of evidence and corrected the nullity pointed out by the Guimarães Court of Appeal, considering as unproven a point of the accusation referring to amounts charged (3,000 euros + VAT) by one of Manuela Sousa's companies to the municipality, for communication consultancy services provided in July 2014.