The prosecutor’s office points to “corruption at the highest level”, the defense demands to reject the claim

During an instructive debate in the EDP case Tuesday, prosecutors said there was “high-level corruption” between Manuel Piño and Ricardo Salgado, while the defense denied the allegation and asked the defendants not to answer at trial.

At a meeting held at the Central Criminal Court (TCIC), State Ministry prosecutors Carlos Casimiro and Hugo Neto confirmed the existence of a corrupt deal between former Economy Minister Manuel Piño and former BES President Ricardo. Salgado is in a process that also involves the ex-wife of the ruler, Alexandre Pinho, on suspicion of corruption, fraud and money laundering.

“This is corruption of the most serious and highest level,” prosecutor Hugo Neto said, highlighting Manuel Piño’s “confession of receiving half a million euros” from the Espírito Santo (GES) group, in addition to about 15,000 euros per month. while he was a minister: “That alone justified the charge of corruption, so the instruction could only have resulted in that, besides the charge of bleaching.”

The issue of money laundering was deepened by prosecutor Carlos Casimiro when he explained that the arguments were common to the three defendants. “The situation is to take money from the BES blue bag and place it in a tax haven with a company hiding the beneficiary,” the judge said, stressing that Ricardo Salgado “knew he was paying an illegal amount to a person who, as a minister, could have influence” .

Opening the defense charges, lawyer Francisco Proenza de Carvalho, representing the former banker, criticized Judge Gabriela Assuncao for rejecting all steps requested by the defense during the training phase, and even suggested that he thought not to say anything. for understanding that this Tuesday’s mock debate was “on track with the calendar”.

“It would raise other questions if we had instructions. If there is no instruction, this defense will not rely on an instruction that seems like a simple formal exercise for the decision we are all waiting for,” he said, continuing: “I have no doubt that the only answer that defends the rule of law is Ricardo’s not saying Salgado, and that’s what we’re asking for.”

However, the ex-banker’s spokesman stressed that what he said was an evolution of the MP’s position on medical expertise, and stressed that it was “not useless” to have expertise at this procedural stage. “The state of health of the accused must be taken into account at any stage of the process, and he has the right to defend himself at the training stage. We took a step forward, at least on Tuesday, when the deputy admitted that this should be the subject of an independent examination,” he said.

Manuel Piño’s defense began with a protest, with lawyer Ricardo Sa Fernández defending that the educational actions requested by the defendant “could probably be carried out within a few days”, while the MP conducted “an investigation that took more than 10 days “. years before completion.

Ricardo Sá Fernández recalled the nullity cited in relation to Piño’s possible wrong constitution as a defendant to explain that if there is a statute of limitations for crimes related to this circumstance, it is the prosecutors who “should be pilloried by public opinion”. “, in addition to leaving criticism to the investigating judge.

“The dish that the prosecutor’s office served him, he considered good and well-established, not realizing its inconsistencies and inconsistencies. On another occasion, he did not give the defendants the right to self-defense,” the lawyer emphasized, noting that the justice of the peace “distinguished this indication in terms that represent a true denial of justice.”

Manuel Piño’s lawyer also reiterated that the ex-governor had already assumed that he received the funds without a tax return and that “today he is well aware that he did wrong”, but recalled that it was the payment system used in BES, that the funds were settled and that he refuses to take on the label of corrupt, emphasizing that calling him “Ricardo Salgado’s servant” is a slander for the two defendants.

“These tales of benefits provided by Manuel Piño to GES are pure fantasy your excellencies, arranged at the last minute when the CMEC story eluded you,” the lawyer told prosecutors, alluding to the investigation that gave rise to the EDP Case and which turned out to be allocated to another process.

Finally, Alexandra Pinho’s defense pointed out “arrogance and arbitrariness” to prosecutors, casting doubt on evidence showing that the ex-governor’s wife was involved in an alleged corrupt conspiracy with Ricardo Salgado, and that records relating to the defendant should be filed in a training decision , either due to lack of evidence or because of the statute of limitations.

Judge Gabriela Assuncao scheduled the reading of the training decision for April 14 at 2:00 pm.