Judges Rui Rangel and Fátima Galante entered the Supreme Court of Justice at 9:50 am today, where they will be heard as defendants within the scope of “Operation Lex”.
According to the Lusa agency, the two judges at the Lisbon Court of Appeal are indicted for crimes of corruption/improper receipt of benefits, money laundering, influence peddling and tax fraud.
On the one hand, Rui Rangel and Fátima Galante were preventively suspended from their duties by the plenary of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, which also suspended Fátima Galante’s promotion to the Supreme Court of Justice.
In addition to Rui Rangel and Fátima Galante, ‘Operation Lex’ has at least ten other defendants, including the president of Benfica, Luís Filipe Vieira, the club’s vice-president Fernando Tavares and the former president of the Portuguese Football Federation. Football João Rodrigues.
Five of the defendants who were detained have already been heard at the Supreme Court of Justice, all of whom were released free, and one of them paid a bond of 25,000 euros.
According to data from the operation, launched on January 30, 33 searches were carried out, of which 20 were homes, namely Sport Lisboa and Benfica, the homes of Luís Filipe Vieira and the two judges and three law firms.