The Public Prosecutor’s Office has shelved the investigation involving the Secretary of Economy, Tourism, and Culture of Madeira, in a process on suspicion of the crime of malfeasance, the minister confirmed, after receiving information from his lawyer.
“For my part, I never had any doubt that no crime was committed in this process, but naturally it is necessary to respect the justice process and the time it takes to reach a resolution,” said Eduardo Jesus.
Speaking to the Lusa agency, he said that such anonymous complaints undermine the democratic process.
Eduardo Jesus was made a defendant in October 2024, and in November his parliamentary immunity was lifted, due to suspicions of malfeasance related to his upgrading of a tourist utility to a hotel unit in the north of the island of Madeira.
“It is with great tranquility that, at this moment, I conclude that I was right in the conviction that I had not committed an illicit practice.”
Regarding the anonymous complaints, the Regional Secretary considered that this “expedient” is “undermining the […] democratic environment,” but that “being made a defendant offered him the opportunity to defend himself and democracy.”
“It is not possible to live indifferently to this great threat [anonymous complaints] that hangs over the entire political environment. Politics has become a battlefield for motivations that are not noble, he warned, defending the need to “reflect on time and energy given to dealing with and investigation anonymous complaints.”
Eduardo Jesus recalled that his process contributed to precipitating the fall of the PSD minority Regional Government, on the 17th of December 2024, following a motion of censure presented by Chega, who justified their actions based on judicial investigations involving the President of Madeira and four Regional Secretaries, all of whom were made defendants.
In January 2024, the President of the Madeiran executive, Miguel Albuquerque, was made a defendant in a corruption inquiry related to abuse of power and malfeasance, among others. Later, in September, the Regional Secretaries Rogério Gouveia (Finance), Pedro Ramos (Health and Civil Protection), and Pedro Fino (Equipment and Infrastructure) were also made defendants under the “AB INITIO” operation, on suspicions of economic and financial crime.
In a statement. Eduardo Jesus said:
“The case is over and archived, I am no longer a defendant, and I want to leave this message: being a defendant in a case is not a problem, it is an opportunity for me to defend my actions and it was, for me, essential that I went through this process. Naturally, I would have preferred not be have been involved in any of this.”
Eduardo Jesus explained, that the investigation into suspected malfeasance involved the issuance of a declaration of tourist utility for a hotel in the north of the island, something that is provided for by law.
“The declaration of tourist utility is easy to attribute to a four- or five-star unit, as was the case, as the law allows it to be awarded regardless of the economic contribution, job creation or local contribution,” he clarified, stressing “it was one of those situations that right from the start one could perceive the complainant’s intention.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com