On Friday, local media said that the co-founder of the telecommunications group Altice, Armando Pereira, was arrested in Portugal, as part of an investigation into allegations of corruption, tax evasion and money laundering.
The headquarters of Altice in Lisbon and the home of the 71-year-old millionaire in the municipality of Vieira do Minho in northern Portugal were attacked by officers, according to CNN Portugal and SIC TV.
Altice Portugal, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, is the country’s largest telecoms company and part of the Netherlands-based telecommunications and cable group Altice.
In a statement, Portugal’s Department of Criminal Investigations and Procedures (DCIAP) said 90 searches were carried out on Thursday and Friday in homes, businesses and law firms across the country, and three people were arrested.
He did not mention the names of the detainees.
It said it was investigating alleged crimes related to corruption, tax evasion, forgery and money laundering.
The company said that “suspicions leading up to the investigations indicated that Altice Group’s decision-making process was fraudulent in relation to procurement, with practices that harmed the group’s business and that of its competitors.”
The directorate said that the detainees will appear in court on Saturday.
The directorate said that documents and property, such as luxury cars, were confiscated, with an estimated value of 20 million euros ($22.45 million).
SIC Notícias reports that Mr. Pereira is being held at the headquarters of the Portuguese Criminal Investigation Agency (PJ) in Lisbon. PJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ($1 = 0.8908 euros)
