PSD admits giving ‘second chance’ to PM before considering parliamentary investigation

The leader of the PSD parliament acknowledged this Wednesday that the party could give a “second chance” and repeat questions to the prime minister or ask new ones about possible interference in Banco de Portugal before considering a parliamentary inquiry.

“It took the prime minister 60 days to answer the questions of the PSD, we have the right to thoughtfully and calmly analyze the text of the prime minister and consider whether we should repeat some questions again and eventually raise new ones,” Joaquim said. Miranda Sarmento said in statements to journalists that the party would make a decision “in the coming days.”

Asked if he ruled out, as he has admitted in the past, going forward with a parliamentary commission of inquiry, the MP said “commissions of inquiry are never a threat.”

“We do not rule out any parliamentary mechanism, we do not rule out a commission of inquiry. Most likely, at this stage, the prime minister has room for a second opportunity to explain the Portuguese language, given that in this first one he clarified little or nothing, ”he said.

António Costa sent a response to questions posed to him by the PSD on November 23 last year to Parliament after former Banco de Portugal Governor Carlos Costa accused him of pressure and “political interference” in the removal of businesswoman Isabel dos Santos. from BIC.

Miranda Sarmento pointed out some questions that PSD felt António Costa did not answer.

“Why did you meddle in Isabelle dos Santos’ suitability and don’t mention BPI because there was Eurobic at stake; how did you find out about Isabel dos Santos meeting with the manager of Banco de Portugal, since the phone call was in the afternoon on the day of the meeting; why did you have this intervention, for what purpose?” he said, given that the prime minister repeated the intervention when he sent a written message to Carlos Costa in November, following the publication of a book by Observador journalist Luis Rosa.

On the other hand, with regard to Banif, the Social Democrat believes that the prime minister did not respond because he sent a letter to the European Commission about the “possible financial difficulty” of this banking institution.

“Due to the news the day before, this results in the bank being subject to a forfeiture of deposits and the European Central Bank revoking its counterparty status, which puts the bank in an extremely difficult situation, expediting the authorization and subsequent sale of Banco Santander, at a serious cost to taxpayers,” he says.

Stressing that it took the prime minister almost 60 days to answer “questions that he said were easy,” Miranda Sarmento said the SDP would “analyse in detail” the documents sent to parliament in the coming days.

“We will not shy away from any parliamentary tool, whether it be repeating some of the questions we didn’t have answers to, or new questions raised by this set of answers,” he said.

In responses sent to Parliament, the Prime Minister states that he has never taken steps with Banco de Portugal “or anyone else” in favor of Isabel dos Santos’ suitability and has only acted to try to remove the blockade of shareholders in the BPI.

Regarding questions about Banif, António Costa refers to the fact that in December 2015, the Bank of Portugal, led by Carlos Costa, concluded that the sale of Banif by Santander’s decision was the only alternative to liquidation, and led the process.

Part of the PSD questions focused on the alleged government intervention in the Bank of Portugal and Banif’s resolution following the accusations of Carlos Costa, as outlined in the book “O Governador”.

At stake, according to the former governor, and in a version disputed by the prime minister (who has already announced legal action against Carlos Costa for “false and offensive” statements), is a phone call to António Costa on April 12, 2016, in which the prime minister, reportedly told him that “you can’t mistreat the daughter of the president of a country friendly to Portugal”, in what he understood to be a request to the Bank of Portugal not to fire Angolan businesswoman Isabel dos Santos (daughter of then Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos) from the BIC administration.

With regard to Banif, the PSD wanted answers about the “goal and purpose” of the government’s letter to the European Central Bank and the European Commission “due to the absence of a central bank and Banif” and how the letter relates to the news. , a day earlier, from TVI, which opposed the bank’s decision by “accelerating the flight of deposits and the decision itself.”