The search to Mota-Engil group found in 2006. António Mota accused of constitution took place in 2009. But only last month (on May 5) has completed the investigation into the involvement of the largest construction group national and its leader in the organized tax fraud system of several hundred million euro which is at the origin of Operation Hurricane.
the result was not different from that applied to most of the 700 defendants of hurricane: temporary suspension of the procedure upon full payment of taxes missing, plus default interest. After the two years of suspension, and if not check recurrence, the case is closed.
In practice, António Mota, his sister Maria Manuela and Mota-Engil agreed to pay to the tax authorities about EUR 6.1 million in two installments to avoid being accused by the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DCIAP) of the alleged commission of qualified tax fraud crime. There were also suspicions of embezzlement crimes and money laundering but DCIAP understood that the signs were not confirmed.
The Observer contacted the direction of communication of Mota-Engil, but received no reply to the time.
the company Monte Adriano, three directors of this and the construction companies that were part of the consortium Lusoscut road (today Portuscale) received similar agreement with DCIAP, paying a total of 2.7 million not to be formally charged by prosecutors.
Carlos Alexandre judge expressed his disagreement with the made agreements between DCIAP and defendants, but eventually suffrages them because this is required because of a previous decision of the Lisbon, reads the order of the Criminal Central Court that the Observer had access.
DCIAP believes that “the judgment of censorship that acting “managers awake” is mitigated “by not being fraudsters (but two companies BCP and Espírito Santo Group) – and for having” readiness to replenish the tax truth. ” On the other hand, “the regularization of the tax situation in the manner that will be required, gives the community the message that does not pay simulation diminishers facts of tax due” .
the judge Carlos Alexandre, in turn, has a different view.
Having accompanied by judicial process to date surveys of named Operation Hurricane, where investigate omissions delivery coffers State hundreds of millions of euros , looking to this promotion provisional suspension can not express agreement with the Public Ministry (MP) to recognize a ‘value and assign an efficacy to regularize the situation tax ‘, “such depriving the social perception of” impunity of so-called economic crime, “the judge wrote.
Since the beginning of Operation Tornado Carlos Alexandre believes that the defendants to pay the missing taxes have to be accused of a qualified tax fraud crime. That is, the magistrate has the view that the payment of taxes at fault does not diminish the guilt and much less ‘erase’ the alleged crime.
This confrontation between the judge and Rosario Teixeira prosecutor took charge by Operation Hurricane to resort to the Lisbon in 2008, when the judge refused to approve one of the first provisional suspension requirements of the process. The following year, that high court gave reason to the prosecutor, forcing the judge to approve the temporary suspension of MP’s requirements that followed.
The story begins in the late 90s, when António Mota , the group’s president Mota and Company (the then name of the group before the merger with Engil construction), and his sister, Maria Manuela Mota Saints , accepted a proposal by the BCP (made by Servitrust society) to use an English company with no activity for equipment outside of Portugal.
the object passed to this instrumental society (called Intrade – Brokerage and Trading Services, Ltd ). the first buyer of the Mota equipment needed reselling them later to the parent company in Portugal
the problem , according to the DCIAP, is that the invoices issued by Intrade for Mota and Company have a significantly higher value than the actual value of the equipment purchased, which allowed the Intrade society “form a remaining background, which could be used to meet undocumented expenses “ says prosecutors in the application submitted to the court.
that is, the Intrade passed bills between 2001 and 2005 totaling a value of 32,215,468, 47 euros , which is higher than more than 7 million the actual value of the purchased equipment.
this value, plus about 2.2 million, was transferred to an account opened in the BCP branch in the tax haven of the Cayman Islands on behalf of Aryllus Holdings – this company that was controlled by António Mota and sister. According to DCIAP, “these values came to be used to pay expenses in the interest of society” , read in the order of the Central Court of Criminal Investigation.
Soon 2007, Mota Engil (the new name of the company) made statements replacement for IRC, stating that part of the billing increments that were transferred to the bank account Aryllis Holdings, LLC concerned confidential expenses. He paid the respective tax but will have left about 4 million euros off
DCIAP understood that Mota-Engil, António Mota and his sister have caused damage to the state by not paying about 3.8 million euros IRC for concealment of income .
There is a second situation, led by the ESGER society -. society Espírito Santo Group (GES) that played roles to replicate the Servitrust
that society GES proposed Antonio Mota and her sister very similar to the above scheme. This time it was used an English company designated as Norex , which passed in 2002 a set of invoices with a total value of about 440,000 euros for services allegedly fictitious.
This amount was paid by Mota-Engil deposited in a Barclays account in England, opened in the name of Norex, and transferred to a second account, the Compagnie Bancaire Espirito Santo, Switzerland, on behalf of Harper Trading .
account Harper received between 2001 and 2002 a total of 1749402, 38 € , according to the DCIAP. This value is, according to the MP, hidden income da Mota and Company that should have been taxed on corporate income tax. Therefore, the DCIAP ensures that “defendants generated a loss for the state 1623297 14 € .”
In total, through the schemes proposed by Servitrust and the Esger, the damage to the state reached 6111406, 45 € – a figure that Mota agreed to pay in two installments.
the first of these benefits in the amount of around EUR 3.1 million should have been paid in May, while the second should be paid by the end of the year . The Observer questioned the Mota-Engil group on completing the payment of the first tranche but received no answer.
António Mota and his sister were also investigated on suspicion of crimes abuse of trust and money laundering, but these suspicions were filed.
DCIAP understands that, in the case of embezzlement of crime, only exist criminal practice is improper payments made by Mota-Engil group stay in possession of António Mota and her sister and “without the existence of a social decision [companies] to authorize such assignments.” It is true that part of the Mota-Engil funds eventually ending up with an account of a company offshore controlled by Mota and his sister, but the funds have served to pay “undocumented expenses” in the interest of companies, says the MP.
the same reasoning was made for money laundering evidence, as the MP considered that the purpose of using a company offshore and accounts bank located in tax havens was aimed at “no demonstration at the tax administration of the proceeds of the companies of Mota Engil Group” “not concealing such income.” – the basis of any money laundering
Mota-Engil was also involved partially in a second case of alleged tax evasion detected during the investigation of Operation Hurricane. That is an investment by road concessionaire Lusoscut the acquisition, cash support and sale of AA Quelhas society. The dealership, which won the tender for the construction, operation and maintenance of SCUT Grande Porto, was led by Mota-Engil but had five other construction companies as shareholders. – For example, the companies Monte Adriano and Hagen
in order to alleviate the financial burden of 2.3 million euros that builders invested in AA Quelhas, an English company with no activity was used which issued a set of invoices with this value but relating to services fictitious.
the developers eventually have tax benefits considered by the MP as illegal because not only these invoices generated VAT deductible as there was an artificial increase in costs, “causing a loss to the State estimated by equity criteria, the amount of 500 000 euros “for each company, reads the order of the Central Court of Criminal Investigation.
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