Coimbra, Portugal, July 13, 2026 (Lusa) - A court in Coimbra, in Portugal's centre region, on Monday ordered two women linked to an accountancy firm to be remanded in custody and suspended the head of the local tax office from duty, suspected of being involved in the fraudulent regularisation of thousands of immigrants.
In addition to pre-trial detention, the two defendants have been barred from contacting other official suspects and parties involved in the case, the Coimbra Regional Attorney General’s Office stated today in a notice published on its website.
Meanwhile, a head of department at the local tax office, who is also believed to be part of the group, has been suspended from his duties and prohibited from contacting the official suspects, other parties involved in the case and staff at the tax office he headed, as well as from entering the premises.
The Coimbra Criminal Investigation Court also ordered a fourth official suspect, a foreign national, to periodically report identity and residence to the authorities, prohibited him from contacting the other suspects and from leaving the country, and required him to surrender his passport, according to the Regional Public Prosecutor’s Office statement.
The four defendants had been arrested last week as part of Operation “Neblina Atlântica”, on suspicion of belonging to a group believed to have made millions of euros from the fraudulent regularisation of thousands of immigrants, most of whom were living in other European countries.
The defendants are suspected of offences including forming an organisation to facilitate illegal immigration, facilitating illegal immigration, corruption and money laundering.
The “Neblina Atlântica” police operation led to the arrest of five people, including a tax official working in the Central region, and the naming of a further 15 official suspects in a case seeking to dismantle a group believed to have regularised the status of thousands of immigrants, mainly from Brazil, said the director of the Central Regional Directorate, Avelino Lima, at a press conference held today.
A source from the Central Region’s Judicial Police (PJ) clarified that, although a fifth arrest had been made as part of the operation, this other suspect was detained solely for possession of a prohibited weapon and his arrest was formalised in a separate case.
During the press conference on the operation, the head of the Centre’s Judicial Police (PJ), Avelino Lima, stated that the group operated mainly in the region, specifically between Cantanhede and Mealhada.
He explained that those arrested had set up a group which acted as a “service provider” to migrants, posing as a legally operating organisation, charging an upfront fee of €200 for each application initiated.
Depending on the requirements of each case, the group charged additional fees, handling matters such as the creation of tax identification numbers, the registration of employment contracts with companies – “some real, others fictitious” – or even classifying their clients as self-employed workers, issuing self-employment invoices, said Avelino Lima.
The “vast majority” of migrants who paid for these services “are not even in Portugal”, but are mainly living in Belgium, France and Switzerland, he added.
Avelino Lima stated that nearly ten thousand immigrants linked to this group may be involved, but acknowledged that the figure is still being determined, noting that some cases were initiated as far back as 2022.
The director of the PJ’s Central Region warned of the ability of these groups to infiltrate state structures – given the financial gains they generate.
JGA/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
