There is a Portuguese institution whose name seems poisoned, given the large number of blunders and schemes in which it has always been involved over the years. SIRESP—Portugal's emergency communications network— started to be the target of major controversies while its technical operation was dependent on Patrick Drahi’s company, Altice.

Almost a decade has revealed a succession of unclear occurrences: hostility towards a successful Jewish man, hostility towards a multinational company with Israeli capital, passionate government projects to reform SIRESP (the Portuguese public security system), the resignation of the president of this institution, nighttime robberies carried out by professionals to steal its computers, searches in the country's largest synagogue for documentation relating to that businessman's name, and finally, the national and international destruction of the Altice company's name through a process of internal "corruption" within the institution itself, which the State apparently wanted to help purify.

Year 2017

The socialist government came into conflict with that rich Jew and the network faced severe scrutiny during the tragic forest fires, as the system suffered outages and firefighters and Civil Protection personnel were left without communications in critical zones, heavily linking Altice's infrastructure dependencies to the national crisis.

Year, 2018

Altice Portugal assumed majority control of the corporate entity that managed the network and this raised concerns among de socialist rulers regarding a private, foreign-owned telecom holding controlling a critical national security asset.

Year 2019

The Portuguese government bought the private stakes from Altice to regain total ownership of the network.

Years 2020, 2021

The government decided and detailed a complete overhaul of SIRESP, which would necessarily have to change hands in terms of technical operation.

Year, 2022

The socialist government dismissed the then-president of SIRESP, Sandra Perdigão, accusing her of close ties to Altice.
Days later, Drahi's name was sought at the Porto synagogue by the Lisbon prosecutor's office.
Days later, Perdigão's house was burgled during the night and her two computers were stolen.
Days later, the assault was described in a book by the Jewish community of Porto, saying: "We are Jews, we are not stupid".

Year, 2023

The famous magic word - "corruption" - made its appearance proudly. "Picoas Operation" was born. Portuguese judicial authorities raided Altice's offices to investigate alleged corruption, tax fraud, and procurement irregularities, further putting the spotlight on the way Altice managed contracts and supplied services within Portugal. This was not about any harm Drahi caused to Portugal, but rather about alleged Altice officials who harmed Drahi himself. In this astonishing way, the State ruined the name of the Altice company appearing to want to "protect" the same organization that for years it tried to defame and destroy.

Years, 2024, 2025

The telecommunications group Altice was the target of intense, coordinated criminal investigations that originated in Portugal and subsequently expanded across other countries, notably France.

Year, 2026

Altice had continue to be targeted by major criminal investigations originating in Portugal and these ongoing, large-scale probes into the company's business practices continued to escalate with raids, asset recoveries, and legal developments

A new controversy

The last controversy centers on the resignation of the Ministry of Internal Administration's (MAI) number two official, António Pombeiro, following the government's reappointment of General Paulo Viegas Nunes as head of SIRESP. Pombeiro accused him of "serious irregularities," ethical breaches, favoritism, conflicts of interest, and the improper hiring/appointments of associates such as Sofia Casimiro.

Pombeiro requested his dismissal to protest the reappointment of Paulo Viegas Nunes. This sudden resignation and explosive allegations have triggered immediate demands in the Portuguese Parliament. Opposition parties are urgently demanding explanations from the Minister of Internal Administration.