Lisbon, May 8, 2025 (Lusa) - The former chairman of Altice Portugal, Alexandre Fonseca, told Lusa on Thursday that it was without surprise and alarm that he had taken on the status of 'arguido' or formal suspect in the Operation Picoas case after "clarifying all the issues raised" in the criminal investigation.
"I was at the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action today to be heard in the context of the so-called Operation Picoas," Fonseca confirmed to Lusa. "Finally, after almost two years, I was confronted with questions related to Altice in the context of the case and was given the opportunity to learn about and fully clarify all the issues raised."
Therefore, he went on, "it is without surprise or alarm that I assume the status of defendant after making statements that I had long hoped and aspired to be able to make."
At issue in the case are suspicions of corruption and document forgery, related to decisions by the Altice group that are suspected of having resulted in the state being defrauded of more than €100 million, the Public Prosecution Service has previously stated.
As Fonseca noted on Thursday, "it would be incomprehensible or even strange, not to say almost impossible, for the company's chairman, at the time of the facts under investigation, to be left out of such a process.
"Since July 2023 I have been waiting for this opportunity to contribute to establishing the facts, clarifying how I carried out my duties between 2017 and 2022, and the alleged facts are exclusively those that were reported in the media about two years ago and which will be fully clarified," he said. "I consider this to be the best procedural status - not to defend myself, but rather to calmly and rigorously contribute to the swift and fair outcome of the investigation."
The investigation was made public on 13 July 2023, when the co-founder of the Altice group, Armando Pereira, and two other people were arrested.
Five days later, Fonseca suspended all his functions in the Altice group, where he was at the time co-CEO of Altice Europe and chairman of Altice Portugal and Altice USA.
In January 2024, he announced on the social networks LinkedIn, Facebook and X that he had reached an agreement with the Altice group to leave the company.
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