Report overturns acquittal of TVI and former director in Banif trial

The Lisbon Court of Appeal (TRL) overturned the acquittal of TVI and its former director Sergio Figueiredo in the process of publishing news that Banif was the subject of a bailout measure.

We are talking about the news published on the night of December 13, 2015, that everything was prepared for the closure of the bank and that shareholders and depositors could suffer losses exceeding 100 thousand euros.

The news was denied by the bank, with the Bank of Portugal and the Ministry of Finance issuing statements the following day that only indicated the sale was in progress. However, Banif’s collapse was confirmed a week later, after deposits fell by almost €1 billion in a week.

“The judges comprising the 3rd Section of the Lisbon Court of Appeal agree to allow the appeal and therefore to quash the sentence, (…) which should be reformulated accordingly,” reads the TRL ruling, which Lusa had access to today. overturning the acquittal at first instance in May 2022.

According to the TRL decision, judges Maria da Conceição Miranda, Rosa Vasconcelos and Alfredo Costa realized that there was an omission in the verdict because, in their opinion, the court did not indicate any position on the assessment of the testimony of two witnesses heard during the trial. trial.

“It is necessary to objectively express in the verdict the significance that the evidence presented at the trial (…) had for the formation of the court’s verdict,” repeated the judges who, based on this invalidity, which was referred to by Banif (assistant in the trial) and the prosecutor’s office (MP) they no longer even considered the remaining issues presented in the appeal.

The decision will now have to be returned to the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon for review.

Following this situation, the government and the Bank of Portugal decided in December 2015 to sell Banif’s activities, as well as most of its assets and liabilities, to Banco Santander Totta for €150 million.

The European Commission also approved Portugal’s plan for an additional €2.25 billion in aid to cover the financial gap in Baniff, in line with European rules.

According to a Bank of Portugal statement released at the time, the sale was carried out “as part of a turnaround measure” due to “imposition by European institutions and the fact that a voluntary sale of Banif had become unfeasible.”

The operation included “public support valued at 2.255 million euros aimed at covering future contingencies, of which 489 million euros came from the Resolution Fund and 1.766 million directly from the state,” the central bank said, ensuring the decision was the most secure. stability of the Portuguese financial system.”