https://www.ft.com/content/ca71ca96-ae89-11e7-aab9-abaa44b1e130
Former Portuguese PM Jose Sócrates charged with corruption
Peter Wise in Lisbon OCTOBER 11, 2017
snipped
........ The formal charges come almost three years after Mr Sócrates was named as an arguido, or formal suspect, in the case. ...................
After being named a suspect in the case in November 2014, Mr Sócrates was held in jail for nine months under laws that enable investigators to detain suspects in serious cases for long periods without bringing formal charges while they pursue their inquiries. He was released from detention two years ago, but formally charged on Wednesday.
The former prime minister has repeatedly accused state prosecutors of abusing his democratic rights by failing to bring formal charges sooner.
==================================================================
It seems there are exceptions to the rules.
http://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?tabela=leis&artigo_id=&nid=199&ficha=201&pagina=&nversao=&so_miolo=I assume that the link is the latest CPP (which may have changed, yet again, since when he was first made arguido.)
Article 276 is the one we've looked at before (but an earlier version) on how long an inquiry can last without either laying charges or archiving it. The time limit is longer for, e.g., organised crime inquiries, or where there are numerous victims or arguidos.
It also refers to circumstances mentioned in Article 215, which is about how long someone can be held on remand depending on the nature of the crime and its complexity.
If I've understood 276/5, if ILORs have to be sent off and results waited for, the clock stops for up to half of the normal inquiry time.
Even so, 3 years sounds as if they were running somewhat late, but there could be exceptional circumstances of some kind.
ETA: missinng word for clarity: since.