Portugal's ex PM Jose Socrates detained on suspected tax fraud

Jose Socrates, Portugal's former Socialist prime minister, has been held as a suspect in a tax fraud and money laundering investigation, the latest in a series of separate high-profile corruption cases involving the detention of top establishment figures.

Mr Socrates, who was prime minister from 2005 to 2011, was questioned by an investigating magistrate on Saturday after being detained at Lisbon airport late on Friday and held overnight in a police cell.

The attorney-general's office said Mr Socrates, who negotiated a €78bn international bailout for Portugal in 2011, was one of four people detained in an investigation into "suspected crimes of tax fraud, money laundering and corruption".

The detention of Mr Socrates, 57, the first former prime minister in Portugal to have been held for questioning, has shaken a country where several prominent figures have been detained this year in unrelated corruption investigations. Other suspects detained were a long-standing friend of Mr Socrates, the former leader's driver and a lawyer.

"This is a political earthquake for the Socialist party and one of the biggest challenges in the party's history," said Ricardo Costa, a political commentator with Expresso, a leading weekly newspaper. The opposition Socialists are leading opinion polls ahead of a general election scheduled for next October.

In a mobile text message sent to party militants, Antonio Costa, the current Socialist leader, said. " We are all shocked by news of the detention of Jose Socrates." But "feelings of solidarity and personal friendship" should not lead to the party making any comment on the judicial process.

Other recent corruption investigations in Portugal have led to the detention for several hours of Ricardo Espirito Santo Salgado, the patriarch of Portugal's distressed Espirito Santo business empire, as well as top civil servants suspected of corruption tied to the granting of "golden visas" resident permits.

Known for his combative approach to politics, Mr Socrates saw his popularity diminish as the country's economic problems worsened in the lead-up to the bailout. He withdrew from active politics in 2011, later moving to Paris to study political science.

The investigation by Portugal's Central Department of Criminal Investigation involves "bank operations and money transfers without a known or legal justification", the attorney-general's office said.

Several premises had been searched as part of the investigation, which involves tax and customs authorities as well as police investigators, the statement said.

Portuguese media reported that Mr Socrates had been made an arguido, or official suspect, in the case. Arguido status confers legal rights not available to witnesses, including the right to remain silent.

The attorney-general's office said Mr Socrates was not detained as part of a long-running investigation into suspected tax evasion and money laundering known as "Monte Branco" in which Mr Salgado has been made a formal suspect.

In July, the attorney-general's office denied Portuguese media reports that Mr Socrates was under investigation in the "Monte Branco" inquiry.

In 2005, Mr Socrates became Portugal's first Socialist leader to win an overall majority in parliament. He was re-elected in 2009 as the head of minority government after the Socialists lost their overall majority.

He resigned as Socialist leader in June 2011 and left active politics after he had been forced to negotiate the €78bn international bailout for Portugal and subsequently lost a snap general election that brought the current centre-right government to office.

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