Money laundering trial of former PM José Sócrates postponed to 30 October

Trial postponed

The money laundering trial of former prime minister José Sócrates and businessman Carlos Santos Silva was due to begin on Monday, 19 October 2026, but has been moved to 30 October. The court will first decide preliminary questions that could affect whether the trial goes ahead. The case arises from the instructive decision in the Operation Marquês proceedings, dated 2021.

What prosecutors allege

According to the prosecution's indictment, dated 2017, the two defendants are alleged to have used bank accounts of a company controlled by Santos Silva, his wife and Sócrates's driver between 2011 and 2014, so that illicit funds would reach the former prime minister. The indictment says Santos Silva acted as a front man for Sócrates, who was prime minister from 2005 to 2011, to conceal sums allegedly paid to benefit the Lena Group, the Espírito Santo Group (GES) and the Vale do Lobo luxury development. The defendants deny committing any crime. They were also originally charged with document forgery, a charge that has since lapsed under the statute of limitations.

Sócrates's reaction

Speaking to journalists outside the court, Sócrates called the situation an absurdity. He argued that the same facts are being tried in different courts, which he described as the core of the problem.

Parallel proceedings

The main Operation Marquês corruption trial has been heard in Lisbon since 3 July 2025 and has 21 defendants, including Sócrates and Santos Silva. The smaller money laundering case is being heard by a panel of judges named as Rúben Vieira, Armandina Silva Lopes and Helena Leitão, as reported by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura. Sócrates is 69 and Santos Silva is 67. The trial is set to run at the Lisbon Central Criminal Court until at least April 2027.