Chega's first package names 40 identified people and 10 still to be identified, including former prime minister António Costa and current PJ director Carlos Cabreiro.
Livre's list of 25 people starts with Luís Neves and asks that André Ventura move to the witness seat over documents he says were taken in a break-in.
The PCP asks to hear Luís Neves, Luísa Proença, Carlos Cabreiro and Álvaro Pires, and has not yet requested any documents.
Parties have until Sunday, 25 October, to file requests, with the commission meeting on 26 and 27 October before the State Budget debate.
The parliamentary inquiry into Luís Neves's mandates at the head of the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) took office on 14 October, after being approved at the third attempt through a potestative vote requested by Chega. André Ventura, the Chega leader, presides over the commission, which has 24 deputies: eight from the PSD, five from Chega, five from the PS, two from Livre and one each from Iniciativa Liberal, PCP, CDS-PP and Juntos pelo Povo. The inquiry covers Neves's time as PJ director from 2018 to 2026, before he became the current Minister of Internal Administration, and any responsibility of the government members who appointed and oversaw him. Among the matters under review are the disappearance of bitcoins and about 200 seized weapons, the handling of material from Operação Pacoba, public contracts awarded to the builder Construbarcelos, and possible conflicts of interest tied to works on Neves's properties. The commission will also examine alleged leaks of confidential information from the PJ and the SIS to the office of then prime minister António Costa.
Chega delivered its first package of evidentiary requests to Parliament on Friday, 23 October, signed by six deputies. The party asks for at least 50 people to be heard, 40 of them formally identified and 10 whose identities it wants the inquiry to establish. The list pairs top government figures with police leaders, judges, lawyers and officers. On the political side it names former prime minister António Costa, his former chief of staff Vítor Escária, former MAI secretary-general Ricardo Carrilho, and three justice ministers: Francisca Van Dunem, Catarina Sarmento e Castro and the current minister Rita Alarcão Júdice. Inside the PJ it names the current national director Carlos Cabreiro and his predecessor Almeida Rodrigues, along with judge Carlos Alexandre and several former and current PJ officials. In its justification, the party describes the inquiry as examining an alleged collusion between state powers and the protective network around Neves.
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Livre has proposed 25 people, with Luís Neves at the top of its list. It also proposes that André Ventura move from the chair to the witness seat, because he has said he holds relevant documents that were never published and were allegedly taken in a break-in at his office. Livre wants to hear João Santos Carvalho, the head of Construbarcelos, which carried out works in PJ buildings and on a Neves property in Alentejo, as well as Justice Minister Rita Alarcão Júdice and her two predecessors. Its document requests cover communications on the Pacoba operation, including the custody and handover of seized chemicals, the management of seized goods and PJ vehicles, contracts with Construbarcelos, the disappearance of weapons and cryptocurrency, and communications between the government and the PJ. Parliament will provide a reserved room to review the most sensitive documents. The PCP's request, signed by deputy Paula Costa, is much shorter: four names, namely Neves, former deputy national director Luísa Proença, Carlos Cabreiro and Álvaro Pires, director of financial and asset management services. The PCP has not requested any documents yet, saying this will depend on how the hearings proceed.
Parties have until Sunday, 25 October, to submit their hearing requests to the commission. The commission's bureau and coordinators meet on Monday, 26 October, and the ordinary session follows on Tuesday, 27 October. That Tuesday session is set for two hours before the general debate on the 2027 State Budget begins in Parliament. The number of witnesses is set to grow beyond the 50 Chega has proposed, since its list includes 10 people not yet identified.
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Chega, Livre and PCP have each sent witness requests to the parliamentary inquiry into Luís Neves's years leading the Judicial Police, with requests due by Sunday, 25 October.
AI text based on reports by Observador, Notícias ao Minuto, PÚBLICO and other publishers. Published .