Spanish
Admiral in the reserve Henrique Gouveia e Melo, candidate for the Portuguese Presidency, assured this Monday that he has "nothing to hide" when referring to an investigation by the Public Prosecutor's Office into possible irregularities in several contracts during his term as head of the Portuguese Navy Staff (2017-2020).
"I am totally transparent. Those who have nothing to hide, have nothing to fear; if I am notified, I will respond. We hide nothing, the processes regarding public procurement are all compulsorily available," the presidential candidate told the press.
His statements come after the magazine 'Sábado' today published an article in which it claims that the Portuguese Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating 57 contracts approved by the Navy when Gouveia e Melo was in command, all awarded to the same company, Proskipper, dissolved in 2022.
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This process was already known and, in fact, the Court of Auditors ruled out possible financial fractions in 2024, but the case would remain open in the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP) of Almada, according to journalistic information.
Regarding this, the admiral in reserve indicated: "I never dealt directly with the suppliers. I never spoke with the suppliers. I don't know the suppliers", and defended that the Navy is "a very complex organization" and he did not deal directly with all the contracts.
Furthermore, he questioned the timing of this news, just days before the presidential elections on January 18th.
"How is it possible that 15 days before the electoral process, at the end of the electoral process, something from 2017 or 2018 appears? It's not a coincidence and that coincidence seems very strange to me," he concluded.
When asked about this issue by EFE, the Public Prosecutor's Office did not respond.
