Fugitive wanted by Interpol for fuel fraud in Portugal’s Algarve region arrested in Brazil

A 58-year-old Portuguese businessman previously convicted of fraud on the Algarve has been captured in Brazil.

Luís Estiveira was a fugitive from the law after going on the run. He was reportedly detained in a restaurant in the city of João Pessoa in the northeastern state of Paraíba by Federal Police officers. The detainee was wanted by Interpol and had an international arrest warrant against him.

In a statement on Friday, November 10, the Brazilian Federal Police stated that the unidentified suspect was: ‘preventively arrested for using false bank guarantees to purchase fuel on consignment from oil companies. The criminal scheme allowed him to obtain euros in fuel without paying for the supply’.

How did he carry out the crimes?

While running a petrol station concession in Portugal’s Algarve region, Estiveira was subsequently sentenced to seven years in prison by a court in the town of Portimão for nine crimes of aggravated document forgery.

According to the court, he used false bank guarantees to buy fuel from oil companies, on consignment. He had previously already been convicted of similar crimes in the town of Faro in the same southern region of the country.

The fraudulent scheme, which Estiveira reportedly set up in 2010 and 2011, was eventually dismantled by the Polícia Judiciária in 2014. The businessman will now be presented to the Brazilian authorities for extradition to Portugal, according to cmjornal.pt.