Budget to bolster fight against corruption, fraud, white-collar crime

  • Lusa
  • 12 October 2020

According to the draft state budget proposal for 2021, the state promises to adopt measures to optimise capacity and strengthen cooperation between administrative inspectorates and criminal police.

The Portuguese government promises in the 2021 state budget to adopt measures to optimise capacity and strengthen cooperation between administrative inspectorates and criminal police bodies to combat corruption, fraud and economic and financial crime.

According to the draft state budget proposal for 2021 seen by Lusa, the government “adopts the necessary initiatives to optimise capacity and strengthen cooperation between sectoral administrative inspectorates and criminal police bodies (OPC) specialised in the segments of prevention and repression of fraud against the financial interests of the state, corruption and economic and financial crime.”

In the prison system, the government reiterates that it will take the necessary measures to “implement the plan for the gradual closure of the prison establishments in Lisbon and Setúbal” and ensures that it “continues the work related to the construction of a new prison in Montijo”.

As for the judiciary, the State Budget for 2021 provides for “the filling of vacancies” in higher courts, in the Consultative Council of the Attorney General’s Office, in the central and district departments, as well as in the posts of magistrates in a ring court or equivalent, preceded by justification of their indispensability by the Superior Council of the Magistracy, the Superior Council of Administrative and Fiscal Courts or the Superior Council of the Public Prosecution Service, as the case may be.

The Government also announces in the State Budget for 2021 the strengthening of training to combat domestic violence, saying that in 2021 it will implement the annual plan of joint training on combating domestic violence, by the members of the Government responsible for the areas of citizenship and equality, internal administration, justice, education, work, solidarity and social security, and health.