The EDP trial of Manuel Pinho and Ricardo Salgado was postponed on Tuesday due to a strike by judicial officers.
Former Banco Espirito Santo president Ricardo Salgado was excused from appearing in court due to health reasons.
The trial is now due to start on Friday but could be delayed again for the same reason as the strike continues, lawyers said.
The former Minister of Economy (from 2005 to 2009), who has been under house arrest since December 2021, is accused of passive corruption for an unlawful act, passive corruption, money laundering and tax fraud.
Leaving the court, Pinho said it was in his interests to “make clear that this is a lie” and assured that he did not receive euros that were not due to him.
The woman, Alexandra Pinho, is facing trial on charges of money laundering and tax fraud, along with her husband and Ricardo Salgado, facing trial on charges of active corruption for an unlawful act, the crime of active corruption and another of money laundering.
On September 28, Ricardo Salgado underwent a neurological examination at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Medicine (INMLCF) in Coimbra, which the lawyers of the former BES President have requested on several occasions over the last two years, in order to assess the influence on the decision of the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease attributed to him, but it has expert value only during EDP process.
The investigation into the EDP process, initially related to the management of the electricity company and the alleged services, began in 2012 due to suspicions of corruption and economic involvement in the business of former administrators Antonio Mexia and Manso Neto to maintain an inflated rent agreement. in which, according to the deputy, former minister Manuel Pinho was corrupt.
Author: Deborah Carvalho This Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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