Lawyer Arrested in Portugal: Suspected €1.2 Million Theft from Golden Visa Clients

Portuguese police (Judicial Police, PJ) have detained a 58-year-old lawyer suspected of misappropriating at least €1.2 million from foreign clients’ bank accounts. Prosecutors allege that the money was taken from people who hired him to handle their Golden Visa applications — the Authorization of Residence for Investment (ARI) program.

Officers from the National Anti-Corruption Unit arrested the suspect on July 15 in Odivelas, a northern suburb of Lisbon.

According to the PJ, the lawyer gained access to a “large number of clients’ bank accounts” by convincing foreign clients that this would speed up the process of obtaining residency through investment. Between 2023 and March 2026, he allegedly transferred funds from those accounts to his own.

Investigators estimate the overall harm at up to €1.2 million, though the final figure is still being calculated. The PJ also claims the stolen money was “fully spent on personal expenses”.

The case is being handled by the Lisbon Department of Investigation and Criminal Prosecution (DIAP). Authorities have identified 33 victims so far — all of them foreign nationals — and expect the number to rise as the investigation continues.

The suspect’s name and the victims’ nationalities were not released. He faces preliminary charges of aggravated fraud, breach of trust, and money laundering. On July 16, he was due to appear before a judge for a first hearing to determine whether any precautionary measure should be imposed.

“There is no need for this”

The lawyer and founder of the Lisbon firm Liberty Legal, Madalena Monteiro, says that a key factor in this case was the power of attorney, which, in her view, is not required for any Golden Visa applicant.

“The Golden Visa process does not involve the client granting anyone authority related to their bank account, because all transactions can be carried out remotely by the investor,” she says, as reported by IMI.

Monteiro explains that in the standard setup, investors act in one of two ways: either they transfer the investment amount directly from abroad into the fund, or they open a Portuguese account in their own name and send the money from that account into the fund. In both scenarios, she stresses, it is not necessary to hand over control of the account to a third party.

As for the victims’ chances of recovering funds through the courts, Monteiro notes that everything will depend on whether the lawyer has assets that can be seized. “If they don’t exist, it will be impossible to get the money back.”

At the same time, the PJ’s findings are not encouraging: police believe the entire amount has already been spent. Unless investigators uncover hidden assets or property purchased with the stolen money, civil recovery could prove extremely difficult.

Previous high-profile cases

The case echoes earlier scandals involving the program. In 2017, in Lisbon, lawyer Maria Antónia Carneiro was arrested over alleged fraud targeting applicants from China, South Africa, and Brazil for a total of around €6 million. Prosecutors alleged she persuaded clients to transfer money to her for the purchase of real estate that was, in practice, never acquired.

Another episode emerged in December 2025: Portuguese authorities and insolvency specialists identified an alleged Ponzi scheme worth roughly €37 million, linked to a hotel development project in Lagos (Algarve region). The project was marketed to investors considering Golden Visa.

According to experts, these stories do not point to a “defect” in the program’s legal structure itself. A common thread is that investors either hand over money or control over funds to intermediaries instead of carrying out transactions through accounts and instruments that remain under their own control. As Monteiro emphasizes, the correct approach does not require such trust-based management.

Portugal’s Golden Visa (ARI) requires more than knowing the rules—it also demands strict financial transparency and well-controlled document handling. If you’re planning residence by investment, it’s crucial to structure the process so that funds and legal steps are managed reliably—without “trust-based” intermediaries and with a clear action plan. At Digital Nomad, we support you with the requirements and help build a safer, more predictable path toward status.

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