The court rejected the defense’s motion to reopen Ricardo Salgado’s neurological examination and summoned the former president of Espirito Santo Group to testify on February 9 if he so desires during the EDP trial.
According to a ruling from Lisbon’s Central Criminal Court, which Luza had access to on Tuesday, a panel of judges rejected arguments by the former banker’s lawyers to reopen a medical examination carried out in connection with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
However, it accepted requests for clarification from the reviewing experts, considering that “they may have an interest in finding out the truth” and also allowing the combination of clinical elements mentioned in the expert report.
The judges also decided to “notify the defendant Ricardo Salgado – taking into account the contents of the expert report – that he will appear at the hearing on February 9, 2024 to make a statement if he wishes.”
In an expert report held in early January, the experts stated that “Alzheimer’s disease is the most likely cause of the defendant’s clinical condition” and that it revealed “significant changes in orientation, attention and memory (…) and psychomotor slowing”, but which may be challenged in court, although the accuracy of the statements cannot be guaranteed.
In the same document, one can read that “when examining possible insufficient efforts or attempts at modeling during the assessment process, the subject reports illogical or very atypical neurological symptoms and symptoms associated with memory disorders that do not correspond to patterns of impairment.” caused by actual dysfunction or damage to the brain, indicating an attempt to worsen the difficulties.”
This allegation of possible symptom malingering led the defense to target expert Renata Benavente for her “apparent lack of technical capacity to conduct a specific examination” because she is a specialist not in neuropsychology, but in justice and community psychology. However, the court refused, saying that the expert was not responsible for the report of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Sciences (INMLCF).
“It appears from the expert report that Dr. Renata Benavente did not sign it. In fact, her intervention was limited to the preparation of an additional examination and the corresponding conclusion,” the order states, continuing: “Dr. Renata Benavente expert, within the limits of the expert opinion available in the case file, there is no basis for renewing the expert opinion due to doubts about her technical competence as an expert “.
The court also rejected the argument of lawyers Francisco Proenza de Carvalho and Adriano Schilacce that two reports were submitted and that this situation gave rise to “inconsistencies and contradictions”, violating the unity of the examination. The judges also stressed that the previous expert report, which was referred to by Salgado’s defense and carried out as part of the trial in the civil court of Cascais, “is not an expert report.”
Former Banco Espirito Santo (BES) president Ricardo Salgado is being tried in the EDP case for active corruption for illegal activities, active corruption and money laundering, in a process that also charges former Economy Minister Manuel Piño. (passive corruption for wrongful acts, passive corruption, money laundering and tax fraud) and his wife Alexandra Pinho (laundering and tax fraud – material co-author with her husband).