The corruption investigation that led to 75 searches this week is focused on suspicions of fraud in public contracts related to IT worth about €17 million. Although this amount may seem significant, it represents only a fraction of the vast public spending on infrastructure and digital services in Portugal.
An investigation by PAGE ONE, based on the BASE Portal, shows that the top 500 public contracts related to IT—each worth over €500,000—total €763 million before VAT and almost €939 million including VAT. In the last five years, 15 contracts exceeded €5 million, with three exceeding €10 million.
The Computer Institute leads public spending in this area, followed by the Tax and Customs Authority and the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health. Other major spenders include the Bank of Portugal, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Education and Science.
Despite the variety of suppliers, some companies like Normática, MEO, ATOS II, and Informática El Corte Inglés dominate the sector. The ongoing investigation highlights both the financial scale and the strategic sensitivity of IT acquisitions in the public sector.
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