Ports Case 7 - Journeys billed to the ETP

The Police report, under the above heading says:

In effect, the ETP requested the services of the said travel agency, for journeys, car rentals and hotel stays, which despite being entirely paid by the ETP, were either partially used or used for private ends. The remaining values were credited to David Pedra or to the company belonging to the President of the Free Trade Union of Loaders and Unloaders, José Manuel de Freitas (Freitas e Célia)...

When questioned, Ricardo Jorge Ferreira de Jesus an ex employee of the Pateo Agency, said that effectively, following instructions of David Pedra and of the employee Noelia, they emitted bills to the ETP for services never rendered (journeys, hotel stays and car rentals), the cost of which were later credited to a current account opened in the name of David Pedra, for private use....

The current account of Freitas e Célia, the company beloning to José Manuel Freitas, and his wife, were credited with values of bills paid by the ETP.

It was also found that the companies Freitas e Célia, Pedra e Costa, Gest Lider, Soft Leader and the Stevedores Trade Union requested the emission of bills for services never rendered, and which were later used by the shareholders of the mentioned firms for private ends...

By way of example, the Management of the Meridian Park Porto Hotel was asked to inform the police whether on the dates from 18 to the 23rd of August 2002, José Manuel Freitas and , José Manuel Abreu dos Santos, president s of the two trade unions, had stayed at the hotel, according to bill nº 411 of the Pateo Agency. According to the Hotel, these persons were not registered as guests on those days.

Therefore, no doubts remain that this was one of the bills paid by the ETP for journeys not made, and whose cost reverted to other ends.

José Manuel Freitas denied everything.

This section of the report concludes that given the complexity of the investigation and due to some of the facts pertaining to a period which exceeds the timeframe of the investigation, the police suggest that all the relevant facts should be extracted for a separate evaluation. Given that the companies Gest Lider, Pedra e Costa and Freitas e Célia used the same strategy, the facts of the investigation should be sent the Regional Tax Office.