The man close to the former president of Guinea-Bissau Sissoco Embaló detained on Sunday, December 14th, in Lisbon on suspicion of smuggling and money laundering was released without going to court, a source from the Judiciary Police (PJ) told Lusa this Monday, 15th.
On Sunday, the PJ had informed that the foreign citizen, whom he did not identify, would be questioned by a judge to apply coercive measures, which did not happen, since the main crime of which he is suspected (smuggling) is punishable by a maximum sentence of less than five years in prison.
The defendant, whose proximity to Sissoco Embaló was confirmed to Lusa by a source linked to the investigation, was detained on Sunday by the PJ at Figo Maduro Military Airport, in Lisbon, and in his luggage he had around five million euros in cash, the origin of which will now be investigated by the authorities.
In a statement, the Judiciary Police (PJ) said on Sunday that the arrest resulted from a complaint regarding the passengers and alleged embezzlement of the country’s funds. According to the PJ, the arrest took place in the early hours of the morning, at Figo Maduro Military Airport, targeting “a foreign citizen, coming from a flight from Guinea-Bissau, accused of committing the crime of money laundering”.