Lisbon, Nov 22 (IANS/EFE) Former Portuguese prime minister Jose Socrates has been arrested as part of investigation into the alleged tax fraud, money laundering and corruption.
The former Socialist premier was arrested late Friday upon his arrival at the Lisbon airport from Paris, Portuguese media reported Saturday.
The Attorney General's Office confirmed the arrest of Socrates and three others suspects, adding that the 57-year-old former prime minister will be brought Saturday before a judge for questioning about suspicious money transfers.
This is the separate investigation from the so-called Monte Blanco probe, which was launched in June 2011 and dismantled a money-laundering network linking Portugal and Switzerland, the AG's office said.
Socrates, who was prime minister from 2005 to 2011, resigned in the middle of his second four-year term amid a burgeoning debt crisis that forced the Iberian nation to request an international bailout.
--IANS/EFE
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