After the two were questioned at the Supreme Court, the judge overseeing the investigation decided also to impose bail conditions on Rangel, namely that he must request authorisation in order to leave the country, on the grounds that he has dual nationality, according to his lawyer, João Nabais.

In addition, both Rangel and Galante were obliged to provide details of their identity and residence.

On leaving the court, Nabais stressed that his client was not under investigation for suspected corruption, but for graft and money laundering.

As for Rangel’s ex-wife Galante, her lawyer, Paulo Sá e Cunha, did not say what crimes she was suspected of, saying only that they were “a little less” than those in Rangel’s case.

In a statement released earlier, the office of Portugal’s attorney-general said that there are 13 persons of interest in the investigation, including Luís Filipe Vieira, the president of Lisbon football club Benfica.

The crimes under investigation, it said, are graft, corruption, money laundering and tax fraud.

Five of the persons of interest that had been detained have already been questioned by a Supreme Court judge. All have since been freed, with one of them having to pay €25,000 bail.

So far in the operation, which was launched on 30 January, public prosecutors have overseen 33 searches, including at the offices of Benfica, and at residences owned by Vieira and by the two judges, as well as three legal firms.