LISBON: According to police on Thursday, 13 individuals have been detained by Portuguese authorities for allegedly offering bribes to over 10,000 foreign nationals in return for residency cards and other documents that allows them to remain in Portugal and the EU.
According to a Judicial Police spokeswoman, the bribes paid to the group, which included a lawyer, several businesspeople, and a foreign ministry official, averaged 15,000 euros ($16,950) per individual.
In order to receive residence permits, create bank accounts, and gain access to social security, the foreigners paid for false labour contracts that permitted them to remain in the nation. According to authorities, many have departed for other EU countries.
Portugal’s centre-right government tightened various immigration laws in the previous year in an effort to counter the growth of the far right in Europe. On Saturday, the government pledged to deport 18,000 illegal migrants in the next months. Whether individuals who profited from the illicit operation were included in that group was not immediately apparent.
Nonetheless, the nation mostly welcomes immigrants, especially from Brazil and Portuguese-speaking African nations. Numerous academics contend that rising immigration has stimulated economic expansion.
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