The government dismissed the administration of Santa Casa da Misericordia

The administration of Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisboa has been dismissed “with immediate effect”, the government announced this Monday, justifying the decision by saying that the team “proved incapable of coping with the serious financial and operational problems of the institution”.

“The government has decided to immediately dismiss all members of the council of Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisboa. [SCML]”, thanking them for their willingness to carry out functions in such an important institution,” says a government statement issued this Monday by the Presidium of the Council of Ministers.

The SCML is currently headed by former socialist health minister Ana Jorge, who served as ombudsman for about a year, and the remaining SCML board consisted of a deputy ombudsman and four members.

“Unfortunately, this decision became inevitable as the now retiring Board proved unable to cope with the institution’s serious financial and operational challenges, which could, in the short term, jeopardize the fundamental mission of social action for which it is responsible,” he explained. Executive Director.

According to the government, “concerns about the direction of SCML and the Council’s failure to take decisive action to change it were public.”

The writ of execution, for example, cites the lack of “appropriate measures that were necessary to rapidly address SCML’s dire financial position and volatility risks” when the administration discovered an “imminent cash shortage” last June.

The chief executive, who has been in office for about a month, also blames the ousted administration for failing to present a “strategic or restructuring plan” last year and for not “addressing the severe downturn felt by declining revenue from social gaming, the core source of income.

The news of the dismissal of the SCML board was initially announced by the SIC after the newspaper Público reported today that the chief executive had requested an urgent restructuring plan from the institution’s administration.

The statement also said there were “well-founded concerns” about the lack of “necessary diligence on the part of the current Board of Directors to effectively and quickly address the impact of SCML’s disruptive international activities” and increasing warnings about “a significant reduction in the scope of SCML.” social activities on the territory of the country.”

“When asked to provide information requested by the guardianship authority, the outgoing board demonstrated an inability to do so in a timely manner,” the government charges.

The statement also noted that the ability to provide social support to the most vulnerable segments of the population and the public’s trust in the institution, “the greatest asset of the GCML”, “were jeopardized by the outgoing Council, as well as previous ones, due to its failure to ensure that the appropriate management was guided by the degree of diligence, rigor and transparency required in the public interest.”

SCML’s financial problems prompted provider Ana Jorge, who took office on May 2, 2024, to announce a forensic audit of the accounts of Santa Casa Global, a company created to operate lotteries and wagering games in the foreign market, the results of which were as follows: after signs of irregularities were found sent to the prosecutor’s office and the Accounts Chamber.

At a parliamentary hearing, Ana Jorge stated that there was only documentation confirming the authorization of the trustee, then under the responsibility of the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security Ana Mendes Godinho, to invest five million euros in SCML internationalization projects. and that there was no “evidence” of subsequent requests and approvals authorizing the total amount of funds actually invested, in the order of €27 million.

After the minister denied that he had given any approval for this investment, the previous supplier, Edmundo Martinho, stated that the investment in the internationalization of social games had been approved in the budget and did not require trusteeship approval, and reiterated that the minister had been informed.

Following the submission of the interim report last year, the GCML said in February that a more complete audit report had been sent to the prosecutor’s office, which included data collected up to January 31 this year, but then stressed that “an external audit carried out by BDO” not yet fully completed due to difficulties in obtaining administrative and financial documentation relating to the subsidiaries” in Brazil.

According to reports by Público and Observador, the results of the audit accused the previous ombudsman, Edmundo Martinho, of illegal actions and signs of economic criminality in the institution’s activities in Brazil.

SCML did not want to comment on these allegations because the process was under judicial secrecy, but Edmundo Martinho then accused Ana Jorge’s team of trying to discredit and smear the previous administration, as well as creating false narratives about the internationalization process.

The order will be published this Monday or Tuesday.