Manuel Pinho says Ricardo Salgado advised him not to get involved in politics

Former Economy Minister Manuel Pinho said this Friday that the former president of Grupo Espirito Santo (GES), Ricardo Salgado, advised him not to get involved in politics, and repeated that the former banker “brutally harmed him.”

At the second hearing of the trial, held at the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon, the former ruler continued the statements he began on Tuesday, in which he sought to present the chronology of his relations with Banco Espirito Santo (BES) and Ricardo Salgado: the acceptance by the government and the return to activity of BES África .

“In 2005, elections were held, I received an invitation to join the government and accepted it. It was the biggest mistake of my life, because it gave rise to these problems and deprived me of a colossal fortune,” he explained. that a former banker advised him to stay away from politics: “He did not encourage bank members to become politically active. He told me: ‘Don’t get involved in this, it’s nonsense.'”

Regarding the relationship with the former president of BES, Manuel Piño emphasized the “ups and downs” in the “long relationship” with Salgado, whom he described as “very centralizing”, and mentioned two public discussions with the former banker that he pointed out. as a possible reason for his removal from the bank, then recalling the failure to fulfill the agreement reached regarding his retirement at the age of 55 and with 100% of his pension salary.

“We had two public discussions several times and I am short-tempered… I don’t know if this influenced my replacement later,” he noted, continuing: “I can’t thank Ricardo Salgado and GES enough for being refused 16 million euros [previstos no acordo para a reforma] up to seven million euros… I have memories from Dr. Ricardo Salgado of a man who brutally harmed me.”

On Monday, the ministry said that Manuel Piño, when he was invited to the post of Minister of Economy in 2005, faked his resignation from BES and entered into an agreement with Ricardo Salgado to remain in the service of GES and, in the performance of his duties as minister, make decisions aimed at the interests of groups.

This Friday, Manuel Pinho reiterated that “the thesis of simulated separation [do BES] has no logic” and that the so-called criminal pact “is an invention”, and also explains that he returned to GES only to work for BES África after leaving the government due to the failure to implement a reform agreement: “Never freely I would work in BES África, that’s what I was missing.”

When asked about the approximately 15 thousand euros per month paid into an account abroad while serving in the first government under the leadership of José Socrates (2005-2009), Manuel Pinho assured that these were funds that were owed to him and that they were related to performance bonuses. in the BES markets area.

“When I was in government, I received a bonus, and the charges combine bonuses, pension issues and my wife’s salary. (…) I didn’t think about how I would be paid. It was a debt, I didn’t have to think about it. After a year, my account manager told me that I was receiving these monthly payments.

I told Ricardo Salgado that it’s very difficult for me to control [os pagamentos] and asked to stop. The second time, the manager told me the payments were continuing and I asked Dr. Salgado’s chief of staff to stop.”

The hearing lasted several minutes in the afternoon, but the defense referred to the defendant’s fatigue and asked to continue speaking until next week.

Manuel Pinho, under house arrest since December 2021, is accused of passive corruption for unlawful acts, passive corruption, money laundering and tax fraud.

His wife Alexandra Pinho is on trial on charges of money laundering and tax fraud (jointly with her husband), while former BES President Ricardo Salgado is charged with active corruption for an unlawful act, active corruption and money. laundering.