PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Bárbara Marinho e Pinto, João Diogo Melo, Lua Mota Santos and Amanda Bueno Almeida, Rogério Alves & Associados
2. Enforcement Architecture 2.1 Investigative and Enforcement Authorities The investigation and prosecution of financial and economic crime are, as a rule, conducted by the Public Prosecution Service, which is responsible for directing the investigation and bringing criminal pro - ceedings, with the assistance of the criminal police authorities – most notably the Criminal Police, which, by law, holds general jurisdiction over the investiga - tion of complex and organised criminal activity. Within the scope of its powers, the Public Prosecution Service is also responsible for co-ordinating reports and inputs from administrative and supervisory authorities, through legally established mechanisms for information exchange and cooperation, together with the intelligence gathered by the FIU of the Crimi - nal Police. 2.2 Initiation of Investigations The Portuguese Code of Criminal Procedure provides that the Public Prosecution Service or the criminal police authorities must open a criminal investigation whenever they become aware of a criminal offence, which may result from complaints lodged by victims, reports submitted by supervisory authorities, reports in the media or information obtained in preventive operations specifically targeting corruption and eco - nomic and financial crime. At all times, the principle of legality applies, under which the Public Prosecution Service is required to bring charges where, following the investigation, suf - ficient evidence of the commission of an offence has been gathered, and to discontinue the proceedings only in the absence of such evidence or where the proceedings are legally inadmissible. 2.3 Investigatory Powers Investigative authorities and the Public Prosecution Service may order the collection of documents and information, as well as carry out searches and sei - zures, which are generally subject to prior judicial authorisation, particularly where they concern private residences, correspondence, law firms or banking institutions. Any objects or assets that have been used in, or are intended for use in, the commission
• the offences are committed against Portuguese nationals; • there is an obligation to prosecute arising from international treaties; or • legal persons with their seat in Portugal are involved. International cooperation in matters of financial crime is based on a framework law on international judi - cial cooperation in criminal matters, which governs extradition, mutual legal assistance (including search - es, seizures, asset freezing and the gathering of evi - dence), transfer of proceedings and the enforcement of criminal judgments, operating in conjunction with Council of Europe conventions, United Nations instru - ments and EU instruments. Regarding money laundering and terrorist financing, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Criminal Police ( Polícia Judiciária ) carries out the exchange of information between FIUs and competent authorities of different member states, as well as with European co-operative structures such as Eurojust and Europol. 1.6 Extradition and Prohibited Destinations The law permits extradition for the purposes of crimi - nal proceedings or the enforcement of a sentence/ security measure, provided that the act is punishable under both legal systems by a custodial sentence (or equivalent measure) with a maximum term of not less than one year; where extradition is sought for enforce - ment purposes, the remaining sentence to be served must be at least four months. The decision to extradite is always a judicial one. Portugal admits, under strict conditions, the extradi - tion of its own nationals, but only where such pos - sibility is provided for in a treaty, where the offences concern terrorism or international organised crime, and where the requesting state guarantees a fair and equitable trial. Extradition is not permitted, in particular, where the offence has been committed in Portuguese territory or where the person is a Portuguese national, in which cases criminal proceedings must be initiated in Portu - gal, provided this is legally possible.
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