البرتغال «بحاجة إلى تكثيف إجراءات مكافحة الرشوة الأجنبية بشكل عاجل»

According to the report by the OECD working group, the detection of corruption “remains low and the Portuguese authorities prematurely shelved” cases of bribery by foreign public officials “without thoroughly and proactively investigating the relevant allegations”.

According to the conclusions of phase 4 of this evaluation, the number of cases filed has increased significantly compared to the previous phase.

Since the OECD Anti-Corruption Convention came into force more than 20 years ago, Portugal has not recorded a single conviction foreign bribery.

"Despite recent reforms, Portugal has not addressed the Working Group's long-standing concerns regarding its legal framework, and sanctions for foreign bribery against natural and legal persons do not appear to be effective, proportionate or dissuasive," the document states.

While welcoming the efforts and measures taken by Portugal to implement the Convention, the OECD Working Group made a series of recommendations to improve Portugal's ability to prevent and combat corruption by foreign agents, namely to continue "its efforts awareness-raising and training" on corruption by foreign agents among "all relevant actors in the public and private sectors".

The OECD report, however, points out good practices and positive developments, such as the adoption of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, the General Regime for the Prevention of Corruption, the establishment of the National Mechanism against Corruption, and legislation on the protection of whistleblowers.

The report also commends Portugal for its awareness-raising and training efforts in the public and private sectors and the recent program to recruit staff for careers in criminal investigation and forensic analysis in the Judiciary Police.