PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Bárbara Marinho e Pinto, Amanda Bueno Almeida and Lua Mota Santos, Rogério Alves & Associados Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL
2. Procedures and Trials 2.1 Disclosure of Defendants’ Assets
• supervises preventive duties and can impose administrative sanctions for non‑compliance; • co–ordinates with other authorities (eg, Public Prosecutor’s Office, Judiciary Police, Inspec - torate‑General of Finance, CMVM, ASF) where offences are suspected; and • collects data and publishes reports on corruption prevention. 1.7 Prevention of Defendants Dissipating or Secreting Assets Article 228 of the Portuguese Code of Criminal Pro - cedure establishes the preventive seizure of assets, which is a patrimonial guarantee measure designed to ensure the payment of the amount correspond - ing to the benefits of the crime. This measure allows the judge, at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office or the injured party, to order the seizure of the defendant’s assets to ensure future execution. Under Portuguese law, freezing injunctions operate in per - sonam, but they have in rem effects once applied to specific assets (eg, bank accounts and property). The injunction is directed at the defendant but can bind identified assets. Also, Article 227 of the Portuguese Code of Crimi - nal Procedure provides for economic bail. This is a measure aimed at securing assets to ensure the pay - ment of the pecuniary penalty, procedural costs or any debt, compensation or civil obligation arising from the crime. To obtain this measure, the applicant must demonstrate a well-founded fear that the guarantees of payment will be lacking or substantially diminished. Court fees ( custas judiciais ) are due and are generally proportional to the value of the claim or the assets targeted, following the Portuguese Regulation on Pro - cedural Costs ( Regulamento das Custas Processuais ). Non-compliance can result in civil fines, seizure of assets, or, in serious cases, criminal liability for diso - bedience under Article 348 of the Penal Code. Also, third parties (eg, banks or custodians) must comply once notified. If they assist in breaching the order, they may be held liable or sanctioned for obstruction or facilitating dissipation.
In Portugal there are no procedures available to require a defendant to give disclosure of their assets to assist in preserving assets pending a judgment. However, the court may issue official requests to public entities where a person’s assets are registered, or to banks (including the Bank of Portugal), to provide informa - tion about the assets held by that individual. Under Law No 72/2025, published on 23 December 2025, violations of freezing or asset-related restric - tions imposed by the court or by EU restrictive meas - ures may now carry specific criminal sanctions, which reinforces the legal framework for asset preservation in fraud or money laundering cases. 2.2 Preserving Evidence In Portugal, seizures are a crucial instrument for pre - venting the concealment and dissipation of assets. They are regulated under Article 178 et seq of the Portuguese Code of Criminal Procedure. Physical searches ( busca e apreensão ) at a defend - ant’s premises are permitted only with prior judicial authorisation, usually in criminal proceedings or exceptional civil cases involving strong evidence of fraud. As a means of securing evidence, seizures serve the procedural objective of uncovering the truth and act as a safeguard against the loss of unlawful gains, ulti - mately contributing to the fair administration of jus - tice. Under Article 178 (1) of the Portuguese Code of Criminal Procedure, instruments, proceeds, or advan - tages linked to the commission of a criminal offence may be seized, along with any animals, objects, or items left by the perpetrator at the crime scene or any other object that may potentially serve evidentiary purposes. The lawfulness of a seizure depends on the existence of sufficient evidence connecting the good to the offence. It must be determined whether the measure concerns assets used or intended for criminal activ - ity, rather than the lawful possessions of the accused which, having no connection to the crime under inves -
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