The other people charged in the case include the former president of the Institute of Records and Notaries, António Figueiredo, the former national director of the Foreigners and Borders Service, Manuel Jarmela Palos, the former secretary-general at the Ministry of Justice, Maria Antónia Anes, and several Chinese businessmen.

It has, however, emerged that the judge's order under which Palos was suspended from his profession has been rescinded. The Ministry of Home Affairs declined a request from Lusa to comment on the decision, citing judicial secrecy.

Figueiredo faces the most stringent restrictions on his movements among the suspects: he remains under house arrest with an electronic tag.

The case relates to alleged irregularities in the procurement and issuing of so-called 'golden visas' - fast-track residence permits for non-EU citizens prepared to invest large sums in Portugal. The crimes under investigation include the paying and receiving bribe, the undue favouring of applicants, maladministration, embezzlement, abuse of power, and graft.

Contacted by Lusa, Rui Patrício, a lawyer for António Figueiredo, said that he had no comment in advance of the trial.

Public prosecutors had argued on 15 March that all 17 accused should go to trial in a case in which they argued that "the foundations of the state apparatus" had been commercialised.

The judge's decision on the matter was postponed several times because of the need to translate texts to and from Mandarin.

The overwhelming majority of applicants for golden visas are from China.

After the investigation into alleged irregularities in the administration of golden visas was begun in late 2014 the then right-of-centre government suspended the scheme before introducing new rules for it.