The initiative is from the General Council of the OA, a body chaired by President Fernanda de Almeida Pinheiro, and any confirmation by the investigation of illicit practices will be forwarded to the Public Prosecutor's Office, he assured.

“This is the normal procedure we have in all circumstances. There is public news that a certain institution or person may have carried out acts contrary to the law and there are bodies in the OA that are responsible for investigating.”

The request, sent today to the OA Porto Regional Council, will be followed up by the committee for the defense of acts specific to the legal profession.

The commission includes all regional councils of the OA and also members of the General Council, explained the president, adding that the processes are conducted by instructors who “are service providers to the OA and have the independence to verify whether or not sufficient evidence has been gathered that there is a situation of illicit prosecution”.

“If we conclude that there was an unlawful act, it will be referred to the Public Prosecutor's Office, otherwise the case will be archived. What was taken in terms of the OA's public position is the position that is taken in all circumstances,” said the president.

Fernanda de Almeida Pinheiro also highlighted that the request arises from the provision of information by Luís Montenegro's family company.

“The public statement that was issued to the press by the company in question [Spinumviva] is forwarded to the appropriate body for investigation without any kind of value judgment”, he said.

The crime of unlawful representation presupposes the practice of acts specific to lawyers, as defined by law, without legal qualification for that purpose. According to the legal regime for lawyers and solicitors, the crime is punishable by a prison sentence of up to one year or a fine of 120 days.

The newspaper Expresso reported at the end of last week that Luís Montenegro's family company received a monthly fee of 4,500 euros from the Solverde group, owner of casinos and hotels, for “specialized compliance services and definition of procedures in the area of ​​personal data protection”.

The controversy with the company Spinumviva arose with news from Correio da Manhã which indicated that, among other activities, it was dedicated to the purchase and sale of properties, information that was added to other news about companies and assets held by members of the Government in the real estate sector, at a time when the Government is reviewing the land law, with a possible impact on the value of land and houses.

Following the news about this area of ​​activity of Spinumviva, Chega announced a motion of censure against the Government, which was rejected in parliament, but opened the discussion on the possible professional activity of the Prime Minister in parallel with the exercise of government functions and on the identity of the company's clients and possible conflicts of interest.

Luís Montenegro, who during the controversy refused to identify the company's clients, rejected any influence over its activity, insisting that he resigned from his position as partner in June 2022, when he transferred his share to his wife, which raised questions about the validity of the act, since the regime of marriage in community of acquired property can, according to experts, render the act null and void.

Following the news in Expresso on Friday about the agreement with the Solverde group, Spinumviva issued a statement to the press revealing clients and the value of the services provided.

Luís Montenegro announced an extraordinary council of ministers on Saturday and a communication to the country “to close the matter once and for all”, leaving open the possibility of new elections by making the continuity of the Government conditional on a motion of confidence in Parliament if there was no clarification from the opposition on the Government's political conditions to continue.

The PCP announced that it would move forward with a motion of censure, which the PS has already said it would reject.

The Minister of State and Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, has already said that if the PCP's motion of censure is rejected by parliament, there is no justification for the Government to present a motion of confidence.