A former director of the Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) has been accused by the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) of bribe-taking and money laundering, according to a CCAC statement yesterday.
The statement did not mention the name of the suspect but the graft buster confirmed to the media that the “former leader” is Jaime Roberto Carion.
According to the statement, Carion was suspected of bribe-taking and other alleged crimes which were uncovered by the Commission Against Corruption, and the case has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for follow-up.
The statement pointed out that the former leader was suspected of having received huge bribes – in the form of money and real estate. The statement pointed out that during his tenure, he allegedly abused his power and committed illicit acts when approving business people’s construction projects applications.
The statement said that the suspect knowingly approved construction projects that violated the bureau’s administrative and bureaucratic procedures, and he drastically changed the original street alignment plans and issued a revised one. The statement also said that the suspect also illegally granted exceptions from official construction regulations and revised construction projects in order to maximise the business people’s profit.
The statement also said that through the investigation the Commission Against Corruption also discovered that the suspect allegedly received bribes from businesspeople through his relatives and friends. The statement underlined that the “former leader’s” actions are suspected to involve bribe-taking and money laundering.
According to the statement, the suspect and his family members have been on the run from the local police forces’ investigations and have yet to return to Macau. The statement underlined that a number of real estate units owned by the suspect and his family in Macau were previously seized by the local authorities.
Carion left his post as DSSOPT director in November 2014, when he retired from public service. According to previous new reports, the Public Prosecutions Office had seized 40 properties owned by or linked to the suspect, his wife and a daughter in 2019.
According to Portuguese media reports, Carion and some of his family members live in Portugal. Carion is a Portuguese national.
Meanwhile, last month Li Canfeng, a former DSSOPT director, was accused by the Commission Against Corruption of bribe-taking, money laundering and document forgery. Li and two prominent businessmen surnamed Kwan and Sio were remanded in custody on Christmas Eve.
Ex-secretary for transport and public works Ao Man Long, who oversaw the DSSOPT, is serving a 29-year-long prison term in Macau’s high-security section of the Macau Prison in Coloane for bribe-taking, money laundering and a litany of other serious crimes. Only in exceptionally grave cases amount the maximum prison term in Macau to 30 years. Normally, maximum imprisonment amounts to 25 years. Life imprisonment, indefinite detention and capital punishment are banned by Macau’s Penal Code.
The then director of the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), Jaime Roberto Carion, speaks to reporters on October 30, 2014.
File photo: Ian Sio Tou
