Portuguese attorney general confirms five inquiries into interior minister Luís Neves
Attorney General Amadeu Guerra confirmed that Portuguese Interior Minister Luís Neves faces three criminal inquiries and two other judicial proceedings regarding seized assets and private property works.
Scope of the judicial inquiries
Portugal's Attorney General Amadeu Guerra announced on 3 September 2026 that Minister of Internal Administration Luís Neves is subject to five distinct legal proceedings. The cases comprise three criminal inquiries led by public prosecutors, one process before the Court of Auditors regarding a 2023 report, and an administrative probe at the Beja Administrative and Fiscal Court examining urban planning compliance. Speaking in Évora after the inauguration of Court of Appeal President Isabel Imaginário, Guerra stated that two criminal inquiries have been designated as urgent, allowing prosecutors to continue procedural work during the judicial recess.
We investigate everyone, without exception.
The chemical trailer and seized vehicle
The Lisbon regional department of investigation and criminal action (DIAP) is conducting an urgent criminal inquiry into the handling of a blue trailer seized in December 2024 during Operação Pacoba, a police operation against synthetic drug manufacturing. The trailer contained 62 drums holding 12,400 liters of flammable solvents, specifically ethyl acetate and hexane, initially stored in Seixal at the Maritime Authority impound park. By order of Neves, who then served as national director of the Judiciary Police (PJ), the trailer was transferred 350 kilometers to Barcelos to the facilities of Construbarcelos, a private construction company. A late 2024 order by the coordinating prosecutor to destroy the chemicals was not executed by police leadership, who cited high destruction costs and two warehouses already filled with contraband tobacco and olive oil. Public prosecutors also opened an inquiry into Neves's use, under a loan agreement, of a car seized from Ruben Oliveira, a drug trafficker sentenced to 20 years in prison.
- Judiciary Police seizes chemical trailer during Operação Pacoba
- Coordinating prosecutor orders destruction of 12,400 liters of seized solvents
- Public prosecutor opens criminal inquiry after trailer is located at private contractor site
- Ministry of Justice orders internal and inspectorate audits of the Judiciary Police
- Attorney General Amadeu Guerra confirms five active judicial proceedings
Private renovations and contractor ties
A third criminal inquiry, based at the Évora DIAP, examines private renovation work on Neves's family estate in Odemira, in the Alentejo region. The project included the construction of a swimming pool on protected land, drawing scrutiny over municipal licensing and tax classification. The construction was performed by Construbarcelos owner João Carvalho, a personal acquaintance of Neves whose firm received 17 public work contracts from the PJ between 2019 and 2025 during Neves's tenure as police director. Additional scrutiny surrounds whether Neves submitted required wealth declarations to the Transparency Entity and the Constitutional Court while leading the PJ.
Government audits and parliamentary censure
On 6 August 2026, the Ministry of Justice ordered two parallel audits into the Judiciary Police to examine these procedures. The review includes an internal PJ audit requested by current director Carlos Cabreiro and an independent inspection by the Inspectorate-General of Justice Services (IGSJ), with conclusions expected by the end of the year. Politically, the opposition party Chega submitted a motion of censure against the government, scheduled for parliamentary debate on Tuesday, while also attempting to launch a parliamentary inquiry committee into the minister's conduct.
