Tutti Frutti case sends 56 defendants to trial; allegations remain unproven

Lisbon’s Central Criminal Investigation Court ruled on 19 October that 56 defendants in the Tutti Frutti investigation should stand trial. Four of the 60 people initially accused by prosecutors had their cases dismissed. Former Areeiro parish council president Fernando Braamcamp died in April, which is why some reporting refers to 59 active defendants: the outcome is that 56 will face trial and proceedings against three others were dismissed.

Those sent to trial include former PSD MPs Sérgio Azevedo and Carlos Eduardo Reis, as well as Luís Newton, a former president of the Estrela parish council and former MP. Former Santo António parish president Vasco Morgado, former São Domingos de Benfica parish president Rodrigo Gonçalves, former Penha de França official Ana Sofia Oliveira Dias and other local politicians are also among the defendants. A freguesia is a local administrative unit below the municipality.

Prosecutors allege that public offices were used to serve private interests and have brought charges including corruption, malfeasance, influence peddling, money laundering and document forgery. Sérgio Azevedo is reported to face 51 alleged offences, Carlos Eduardo Reis 22 and Luís Newton 10. These are prosecution allegations; the court’s decision to send the case to trial does not prove that any defendant committed an offence.

The court dismissed the cases against former Lisbon councillors Ângelo Pereira (PSD) and Inês Drummond (PS), as well as Ivone Gonçalves, a PSD member in Loures. The outcome should not be read as meaning that everyone named during the investigation will stand trial or has been found guilty. At trial, the prosecution’s case, the defendants’ responses and the evidence presented to the court will be considered separately. The hearing schedule and subsequent timetable have not yet been announced.