Former Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa supplier Edmundo Martinho said on Tuesday that investments 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.
Speaking to Lusa, Edmundo Martinho, who was the provider of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML) between 2017 and 2023, reiterated that the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security was “definitely aware” of the investment. as part of Santa Casa Global, created to internationalize social games.
“Whether it was documents that were sent out with some regularity or activity reports from Santa Casa. [da Misericórdia de Lisboa] and plans [de Atividade] and the budget,” he said.
According to Edmundo Martinho, the then SCML administration understood that “Santa Casa Global’s investment would not require [de aprovação da tutela] given that they were part of the proper planning of Santa Casa and Santa Casa Global.”
“They were included in the budget and in the plan [de atividade e orçamento] and these funds were approved, this budget was approved and approved by the minister,” guaranteed the former supplier, remembering that, according to the statutes of the SCML, the creation or participation of this body in other entities requires the permission of guardianship.
“This is exactly what was obtained – permission based on a document that forecast the activity over many years, and also forecast the need for funding at the initial stage of investment,” he explained.
Edmundo Martinho added that from that moment “a society was built and the necessary funds were introduced into the budget of Santa Casa to achieve this goal.”
“These funds were included in the budget, budgets that were consistently approved by the guardianship authorities,” he noted.
In the activity plan and budget for 2020, approved by Minister Ana Mendes Godinho and available on the SCML website, it can be read that “the strategy resulting from the internationalization project is a partnership for development, with a financial investment expected of 50 million in 2020, will allow us to make significant profits in the medium and long term.”
On the other hand, the order signed by the Minister on June 9, 2020, authorizing the creation of Santa Casa Global, states that “the creation of one or more companies for the purpose of internationalizing the SCML game is subject to the permission of Madam Minister,” but it does not directly say that the authorities must authorize subsequent investments.
“We entered a financial asset title and entered a specific amount, and then that amount was broken down and itemized according to the purpose for which those amounts were used. As far as we understand, it is obvious that it was necessary to inform the guardianship authorities, but these permissions were given from the moment the budget was approved,” defended Edmundo Martinho.
The former provider believes it is legitimate for the new SCML administration to change its mind regarding internationalization and re-evaluate this investment, but believes that interrupting all ongoing processes would damage the institution both from a property and reputational point of view, since it was a business that was just getting started.
On the other hand, he said he had “some difficulty” understanding the Santa Casa Global audit, primarily because it was announced in the media, citing irregularities “even before signing a contract with the company that was going to conduct audit”. audit”.
“I don’t know what kind of violations we are talking about,” he said, adding that he would wait for the inspection report, but arguing that “if there were doubts, if there were any reservations about something, then they should be should have been stated in advance.” .
He also stated that he did not know the reasons that prompted the current provider, Ana Jorge, to send preliminary results to the government ministry, and regretted that he or “people from Santa Casa Global itself were not contacted to clarify issues that might have been discovered “
“Everything is very legal. The way this process was conducted, I think it was a very inappropriate way, I would say, from an institutional point of view and respect for the work that these people were doing,” he criticized, arguing that Casa Global’s Santa Managers “did an exceptional job “and regret that they were fired before the inspection was completed.
He said he was “particularly comfortable” about the audit’s findings, reiterating that Santa Casa Global “will be a way to ensure Santa Casa’s strong financial strength.”
“I have no problem accepting this responsibility. It was all done according to the rules, according to the procedures,” he said, adding that he wanted to know what the financial alternative would be for SKML, taking into account Please note that revenue from social games is gradually declining.
He remains an advocate for the internationalization project because it “needed to be invested in,” and remembers that Banco de Brasília, which will be a partner in exploring the game in this Brazilian state, estimated that Santa Casa Global, within three to four years, was receiving “ almost one hundred million euros in dividends per year.”
Edmundo Martinho also guaranteed that all market research, legal assessments and judicial assessments were carried out and that these documents were with Santa Casa Global, despite the fact that he admitted that he did not communicate this result to the guardianship.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.