The Public Prosecution Office (MP) has impounded 40 properties owned by or linked to former Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) director Jaime Carion, his wife and a daughter, the Portuguese-language channel of government-owned TDM has reported.
According to the Friday report, which did not say how Rádio Macau obtained the information, most of the properties are not held in Carion’s name.
The report points out that the properties include flats, parking spaces and shops in the name of Carion, his wife and a daughter. The real-estate assets were bought between 1995 and 2016, according to the report.
The report said that two of the seized flats were held in the name of Carion, while two flats and an office were held in the name of his wife. The TDM report did not mention the names of Carion’s wife and daughter allegedly involved in the case.
The report said that Carion and his wife are married in community of property, according to the senior civil servant’s income declaration before his retirement.
In the declaration, Carion stated that he’s the owner of four flats, the report said.
The report also said that a flat and two parking spaces owned by his daughter were also seized by the Public Prosecution Office.
According to the report, the impounded property also includes a warehouse, an office and a commercial unit owned by a company in which Carion’s daughter is a shareholder and director.
That company has another shareholder whose real-estate assets as well as those of her husband have also been seized, involving a total of 26 properties including buildings, industrial units, shops, parking spaces, and a plot of land.
Rádio Macau said that the property seizures were officially registered in April.
The report cites a notice by the Administrative Court of December 17, 2017, according to which Carion’s whereabouts at that time were unknown.
Carion left his post as DSSORT director in November 2014 when he retired from public service.
At that time Macau’s then secretary for transport and public works Lau Si Io praised Carion for his professionalism and leadership capacities, saying that he had “always acted with devotion and responsibility,” the TDM report pointed out.
Graft busters’ response
Meanwhile, on Saturday the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) replied to local media queries about the case with a short statement: “Regarding the news report released yesterday [Friday] about the seizure of assets of the former director of the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau and his family members by a judicial agency, the CCAC has received multiple enquiries from the media. Taking into account the nature of criminal investigation and the statutory work procedure, there is no information to be released by the CCAC for the time being.”
In its statement, the anti-graft body pledged that it “will continue to make all-out efforts to combat various crimes of corruption and to be dedicated to building a fair and graft-free society.”
Meanwhile, on Saturday, when asked by reporters on the sidelines of an event at Federal Restaurant in Zape, Public Prosecutor-General Ip Son Sang declined to disclose any information on the case, while confirming that the reported seizure of property involves a criminal case.
The then director of the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), Jaime Roberto Carion, speaks to reporters on October 30, 2014 – shortly before the commencement of his retirement – at the bureau’s canteen when talking about his decision to retire from public administration. He said at that time that he had already worked for 36 years in the public administration and that he planned to join a religious group to take part in a volunteer programme in remote mountain areas after retiring. Photo: Ian Sio Tou
