“What are these payments of 500 thousand euros and 15 thousand euros per month for four years? These payments can only be interpreted by the court as a corrupt agreement.” Ruy Batista, prosecutor of the Ministry of State (MP), said on Monday that it was proven in court that Manuel Pinho received bribes amounting to 1.2 million euros from Ricardo Salgado when he was in government between 2005 and 2009, in favored by Group Espirito Santo (GES). The prosecutor, relentless in his words, demanded harsh measures from the judges: at least 9 years in prison for the former Minister of Economy, 6 to 7 years in prison for the former banker and 4 years in prison with a suspended sentence. , for Alexandra, Pigno’s wife. We are talking about the crimes of active and passive corruption, money laundering and tax fraud. According to the magistrate, the person who ordered the payments was the former president of BES. “It didn’t matter whether Ricardo Salgado was the “Master of Everything.” What is important for the ministry is that Ricardo Salgado owned the relationship with Manuel Pinho,” said Ruy Batista, who defended the importance of circumstantial evidence to prove corruption. “These are not impulsive crimes. In this case, what matters is the punishment, which must guarantee censorship and which does not pay for the crime.” Manuel Pinho, 69 years old, has been under house arrest with an electronic bracelet on his farm in Braga since December 2021.