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Portuguese police make arrest in medical corruption probe

Xinhua, December 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

Police are carrying out over 30 searches in the Portuguese capital, the northern city of Porto and also in Switzerland, Portugal's Attorney General of the Republic said in a statement on Tuesday.

Police are carrying out searches in institutions including the Portuguese Ministry of Health and the Portuguese National Institute for Medical Emergencies (INEM), as well as at offices of lawyers and private homes.

The statement also said that one detention had been made, which local media have referred to as being Luis Cunha Ribeiro, INEM's former president.

The searches involve damages to the state amounting to around 100 million euros (106.3 million U.S. dollars), linked to the sale of blood plasma to public hospitals.

The statement points out that police are investigating a suspected "position of monopoly" to provide blood plasma, which benefited the company in exchange for economic advantages, and which were "hidden with the help from third parties."

The matters being investigated happened during the period between 1999 and 2015, according to the statement. Endit