The inquiries were connected to “a case relating to the fiscal treatment, with regard to value-added tax, relative to a transaction between a Portuguese company and the Libyan Ministry of Health,” the statement said. “The Secretariat of State for Fiscal Affairs is totally ready to collaborate with the investigation.”
Portugal and Libya in 2013 signed an agreement that provided for hundreds of Libyan citizens, including injured members of the military, to receive medical treatment in Portugal, and for Libyan health professionals to be given training in the country.
In comments to Lusa News Agency at the time, the deputy president of the Luso-Libyan Association, Luís Cabrita, said that the patients would initially be treated in private health institutions, although public hospitals could also be involved.
On Wednesday the Correio da Manhã newspaper reported that police had searched the office of the Secretary of State for Fiscal Affairs, Paulo Núncio, as part of Operation Labyrinth, an ongoing investigation into suspected corruption in the administration of a government programme to fast track residence for major investors, known as ‘golden visas’. So far 11 people have been detained as part of that operation, including several senior civil servants.