The BES/GES trial is scheduled to begin on October 15.

The BES/GES trial is set to begin on October 15, the judge in the case suggested this Friday, warning lawyers to release the agenda that day.

“It is necessary to publish the agenda of the representatives and defense counsel only before October 14, since it is considered foreseeable that the trial will begin on October 15,” said Friday’s order, signed by Magistrate Judge Helena Susano, to which Luza had access.

The trial in the case, also known as Universo Espirito Santo, was scheduled to begin on May 28 and then June 18, but difficulties in notifying defendants forced it to be postponed.

In Friday’s ruling, the judge of the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon also refused to return the case to the Central Criminal Court (TCIC) due to the procedural division between the two accused, recalling that almost a year had passed since the eye-opening decision. and the trial has not yet begun, meaning another significant delay will be at stake.

“It is therefore with firm conviction that we are talking about at least a procedural delay of one year,” the judge said, emphasizing that “sending materials for investigation will not only be devoid of any useful effect, but will also be devoid of any useful effect , but would also be sterile, disastrous, and a procedural absurdity that should be avoided.”

The criminal trial of Universo Espírito Santo will begin more than ten years after the collapse of the Espirito Santo Group (GES), in August 2014, and its main accused is former BES President Ricardo Salgado, accused of 65 crimes, including criminal association, active corruption, document forgery, skilled fraud and money laundering.

Considered one of the largest cases in the history of Portuguese justice, the case brings together 242 investigations into the main trial, which were consolidated, and complaints from more than 300 people, natural and legal, living in Portugal and abroad.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the collapse of the hydroelectric power station will cause losses amounting to more than 11.8 billion euros.