Portugal prosecutors' error threatens 'Digital Alliance' fraud case

A procedural error by the Public Ministry has potentially jeopardized the ‘Digital Alliance’ investigation, a major case involving 158 defendants accused of serious crimes including criminal association, illegal immigration assistance, qualified fraud, money laundering, and document forgery.

The investigation centers on a network led by two sisters who allegedly amassed approximately two million euros through “white marriages”—convenience marriages used to legalize immigrants for large fees. The scheme involved Portuguese women marrying Maghrebi citizens, primarily from Algeria, for payments of up to 30,000 euros.

A criminal instruction judge has described the error—a failure to translate the indictment—as an “incurable nullity,” noting that the responsibility for translating such documents rests exclusively with the Public Ministry.