Setúbal Council Raided Over €200K Mayoral Travel and Card Expenses

Setúbal woke up this week to the sight of plain-clothes detectives walking in and out of the seafront municipal headquarters, combing through files that may determine how public money was spent—or misspent—over almost a decade. The investigation centres on travel allowances, credit-card bills and fuel reimbursements claimed by two successive mayors. What follows is how the case unfolded, why it matters for ordinary residents and what could happen next.

Quick Takeaways

• PJ agents searched City Hall on 8 and 9 January, seizing digital records and paper invoices.

• Focus is on former mayor Maria das Dores Meira but some decisions of current leader André Martins are also under the microscope.

• A 2024 audit flagged possible double-billing of €35,500 in kilometre allowances and unexplained use of a municipal credit card.

• No one has been formally charged; investigators speak of a “pre-arguido” stage.

• City officials insist they are fully co-operating and call the probe a “political witch-hunt.”

An Unexpected Knock on the Door

Setúbal’s waterfront Paços do Concelho normally hosts weddings and tourist groups; this week it received the National Anti-Corruption Unit instead. Officers arrived shortly after dawn, splitting into teams that targeted the Human Resources wing, the finance department at the nearby Edifício Sado and the mayor’s own meeting room. Residents walking to the market watched as boxes labelled “Cartões de Crédito – 2017-2021” left the building under police escort.

According to police sources, the warrant authorised access to email archives, expense spreadsheets, and GPS logs from municipal vehicles. Technicians cloned several hard drives on-site before transporting them to Lisbon for forensic analysis.

What Investigators Want to Know

At the core are allegations that kilometre allowances—ajudas de custo paid when officials drive their own cars—were claimed even when official city vehicles or commercial flights had already been paid for. A draft audit, seen by Público last year, lists:

• €35,500 paid to Maria das Dores Meira for 98,500 km supposedly driven between 2017 and 2021. Inspections showed her personal car logged under 1,000 km in that period.• Hotel and restaurant charges booked to a municipal VISA card the same days that mileage allowances were claimed.• A Moçambique mission cancelled at the last minute—but its daily allowance, flights and visa fees were never returned.• A curious double-booking in March 2018 when the former mayor reported working in Brazil and Madrid on overlapping dates.

The audit also highlights missing receipts, vague justifications like “networking dinner,” and several cash withdrawals labelled “miscellaneous services.”

From Footnote to Front Page

The story first broke in August 2024 when Público published excerpts of the confidential audit. A SIC television report two months later amplified the scandal, prompting Setúbal’s assembly—including opposition PS and PSD councillors—to demand a full hand-over of records to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. That referral triggered the current criminal inquiry, formally opened last spring.

Local historians note that Setúbal has experienced graft probes before, notably the 2009 case over port licences. But this is the first time in recent memory that two consecutive administrations—one CDU-led, the other a PSD-CDS-backed independent—have faced scrutiny in the same file.

Political Crossfire

The timing could not be more delicate: municipal elections loom in late 2026. Current mayor André Martins has blamed “legacy issues,” while allies of Maria das Dores Meira argue that the audit itself was commissioned by political rivals seeking to derail her comeback bid. PS councillors, who helped file the complaint, counter that transparency “is not partisan.”

Nationally, the case reignites debate on municipal credit-card limits and whether Portugal should adopt a centralised travel-booking platform like Spain’s. Chega and Iniciativa Liberal have already tabled motions in parliament demanding stricter caps on per-diem payments.

Why Residents Should Care

For Setubalenses the issue is less abstract: if funds were misused, that money could have resurfaced as street-lighting repairs, riverfront flood defences or additional staff for the chronically overstretched Hospital de São Bernardo. Economic analyst Luís Ribeiro estimates that the sums under review—roughly €200,000 when credit-card charges are included—represent two years of the city’s cultural-events budget.

City Hall has promised not to freeze ongoing projects, but insiders admit that legal costs and potential restitution orders could squeeze the 2026-2029 investment plan. Urban-planning tenders are already moving slower as every contract now faces an extra compliance check.

What Happens Next

Investigators will spend the next few months matching bank statements with itinerary claims and interviewing staff who processed expense forms. The file will then return to the Setúbal branch of the Public Prosecutor. If charges follow, Portugal’s criminal code foresees up to 8 years in prison for aggravated embezzlement, plus mandatory repayment.

Meanwhile, expect:

• A special council session later this month to debate a motion for an independent ethics charter.

• The national Court of Auditors to widen its own sampling of municipal travel spending.

• Heightened political theatre as parties shape the narrative ahead of next year’s campaign.

For residents of the Sado estuary city, the hope is straightforward: that the truth—whatever it turns out to be—emerges quickly enough to keep the focus on potholes, housing and tourism, rather than on who flew where and on whose dime.