Multi-defendant defense in BES/GES trial denies criminal connection and asks defendants not to go to trial

This Friday, the defense of several defendants in the BES/GES trial converged in an attack on the criminal association charge and called on the judge not to prosecute, pointing out shortcomings in the prosecution of the Ministry of State (MP).

On the fourth day of the preliminary debate, held in the Monsanto court in Lisbon, lawyer Rogerio Alves, who represents the defendant António Soares, former director of BES Vida, defended that the MP’s thesis was “full of flaws and holes”, noting that its component was “excellent employee” of Grupo Espírito Santo (GES) and sought to refute the thesis of a criminal community at the top of the institution.

“We are talking about a hierarchical group, with different services, which intersects with different subjects and workers. Is it a criminal community?” the lawyer asked, noting that the deputy did not name the payment criteria, the reason for the choice of persons, amounts or dates: “How did you become a criminal community? You are mortally wounded.”

In the same vein, lawyer João Costa Andrade, representative of four of the 25 defendants in this case (Paulo Ferreira, Pedro Coen Serra, Pedro Gois Pinto and Nuno Escudeiro), focused his assertions on what he considered to be the lack of foundation and the correctness of the accusation by the MP .

“The accusation does not mention the elements of the criminal community, what kind of co-payment is there. It’s like having Tolstoy’s War and Peace and prefer to read Tio Scrooge. If it were serious, obviously, the defendants could not have committed these crimes. Things cannot be analyzed rudimentarily,” he stressed.

Clotilde Almeida, attorney for Claudia Boal de Faria, former director of BES’s Thrift Management Department, stated that “there is not enough evidence to prosecute this crime”, believing that it would be necessary to meet the requirements of the crime. “A certain level of organization other than the one that existed in the hydroelectric power station.

In addition, it was noted that the defendant received payments between 2008 and 2011, but the facts in which she was accused took place from 2012 onwards.”

In turn, Isabel Almeida’s defense also denied the accusation of a criminal community, arguing that the deputy referred to “the most innovative doctrine”, and rejecting the grounds for this and other crimes imputed to the former BES financial director. So he said the client is “waiting with some trepidation” and faith in a decision that does not lead to condemnation.

“Isabelle Almeida was a highly skilled employee and followed orders. The defendant was convinced that she acted legally and that everyone around her acted accordingly. The defendant kept his money until the bank was settled, that was her conviction. 300 thousand euros,” summed up the lawyer Miguel Diaz Neves.

Finally, Thiago’s lawyer Rodriguez Bastos acknowledged “there is little hope that the defendants will not face trial” for the criminal community. The representative of the Swiss defendants – Etienne Kadoche, Michel Creton and the Eurofin Society – clarified that the “elements are not fulfilled” of the crime, focusing on criticism of the actions of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary in replacing Ivo Rosa with the current investigating judge Pedro Santos Correia.

“The natural judge is a key guarantee in our justice system. I didn’t have much luck with Dr. Ivo Rosa, so I’m not even a fan,” he said, not forgetting to mention that the current judge became “protected” by the administrative-disciplinary body of the judiciary, and also accusing the SBU of “clear interference in process” and in “exceeding one’s authority”.

The instructive debate continues on Tuesday from 9:30 am with statements to defend the remaining defendants in the trial, also known as Universo Espírito Santo.

This case, which is considered one of the largest cases in the history of Portuguese justice, adds to the main proceedings 242 investigations that have been combined together and complaints from more than 300 individuals and entities living in Portugal and abroad.

The collapse of the Espírito Santo Group (GES) in 2014 caused more than 11.8 billion euros in damage, according to the MP, whose indictment ran for about four thousand pages.