Prosecutors demand trial of Ricardo Salgado, Alvaro Sobrinho and other defendants in the BESA case

During the debate on the investigation of the BESA process (BES Angola), held at the Central Criminal Court (TCIC), this Monday, the Office of the Public Prosecutor (OP) said that the five accused should be brought to trial “in strict accordance with the wording of the charges”. “.

These include former Banco Espirito Santo Angola (BESA) president Alvaro Sobrinho, who was charged with 18 breach of trust offenses and five money laundering offenses, and former BES president Ricardo Salgado, who was charged with five offenses. related to breach of trust and fraud.

Also at stake are former administrators Amilcar Morais Pires, accused of breach of trust and fraud, Helder Batalha, accused of breach of trust, and Rui Silveira, who is responsible only for fraud.

“It is worth concluding that they must be pronounced exactly in accordance with the wording of the accusation,” said prosecutor Rita Madeira, who spent an hour and a half sharing the MP’s accusations with her colleague Sandra Oliveira, adding: “The State Ministry believes that there were convincing indications crimes committed by the accused.”

The investigative debate began around 11:00, with the accused Alvaro Sobrinho never being heard because he did not appear in court.

The former Angolan banker is suspected of embezzling hundreds of millions of euros in a case that took place between 2007 and July 2014.

“The facts were presented by senior officials of BES and BESA. Persons whose knowledge is incompatible with the simplistic, irresponsible and unrealistic versions they present,” the prosecutor repeated, considering the facts “very serious.”

Rita Madeira, the prosecutor responsible for the recent statements made by former Prime Minister António Costa in the case of an influential person, also recalled the “extensive collection of evidence” and noted that the defense’s arguments at this pre-trial stage (an optional procedural stage that aims to confirm , whether the evidence is sufficient to bring to trial) did not refute the accusation.

The MP also refuted the alleged lack of territorial jurisdiction regarding situations in Angola, pointing out here that “the moment of appropriation materializes in the withdrawal of funds from the BESA account registered in Lisbon” and therefore stated that “the crime appears to be complete on national territory “

“[Álvaro Sobrinho] calls the actions attributed to him in the accusation delusional, but has not provided any evidence. There is no doubt that millions of funds were transferred to the accounts of Alvaro Sobrinho or related corporate structures without explanation,” the prosecutor emphasized.

He also claimed that Ricardo Salgado, Morais Pires and Rui Silveira acted to “conceal the BESA situation from other members” of the BES administration, and questioned the fact that the sovereign guarantee that existed in Angola was never activated.

The BESA indictment was announced in July 2022 and relates to BES’s provision of BESA funding in the form of interbank money market (MMI) credit lines and bank overdrafts. As a result of this criminal activity, on July 31, 2014, BES was exposed to BESA worth approximately €4.8 billion.

According to the indictment, the benefits received from the commission of the crimes charged in this investigation amount to the global amounts of €5,048,178,856.09 and US$210,263,978.84.

According to DCIAP, in addition to “amounts improperly debited from BESA accounts registered with BES in Lisbon to the accounts of corporate entities acting in his personal interests, Álvaro Sobrinho also used the liquidity available in these two accounts on several occasions.” banks to cover the cost of purchasing goods and directly financing the activities of other companies they own.”