The deputy claims that the corrupt deal between Manuel Pinho and Ricardo Salgado was proven in court

This Monday, the Office of the Public Prosecutor (MP) requested a sentence of at least nine years in prison for former Economy Minister Manuel Pinho in the EDP case, in which he is charged with passive corruption, fraud and money laundering.

“What, from our point of view, is important in these crimes: criminal censorship. These are not impulsive crimes, they are considered crimes. What matters in this case is the punishment, which must guarantee censorship and which does not pay for the crime,” said prosecutor Rui Batista at the end of the closing arguments of the trial at the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon.

According to the prosecutor, “a final sentence of imprisonment for a term of at least nine years will be sufficient to convict the crimes.”

Manuel Pinho, under house arrest since December 2021, is on trial in the EDP case of passive corruption for an unlawful act, passive corruption, money laundering and tax fraud.

For former Banco Espirito Santo (BES) president Ricardo Salgado, the lawmaker asked for an effective prison sentence of six to seven years, while for the wife of the former governor, Alexandra Pinho, a request for a four-year prison sentence was rejected. in performance.

For approximately four hours, the parliamentary judge considered the prosecution’s case and analyzed the evidence presented during approximately seven months of trial, considering that in relation to the latter, the existence of a “corruption agreement” between Ricardo Salgado and Manuel Piño had been proven. act in defense of the interests of the Group Espirito Santo (GES) in the performance of public functions.

“Manuel Pinho received 500 thousand euros after joining the government and 15 thousand euros a month when he was already a minister. The agreement between Manuel Pinho and Ricardo Salgado was proven,” said Rui Batista, who believes that the corruption pact was proven in court process.

“Whether Ricardo Salgado was DDT (Owner of Everything) or not, the deputy is not interested, what matters is that he [Salgado] he owned the relationship with Manuel Pinho. Ricardo Salgado was in charge. The transfer to Manuel Pinho was ordered by Ricardo Salgado,” the prosecutor said.

For Alexandra Pinho, the wife of Manuel Pinho, a suspended sentence of four years was required. Alexandra Pinho is responsible for money laundering and tax fraud – materially co-authored with her husband – while former BES President Ricardo Salgado is responsible for active corruption for illegal acts, active corruption and money laundering.

The lawyer of the former president of Banco Espirito Santo (BES), Ricardo Salgado, also asked this Monday for a new examination of the former banker to postpone a possible verdict in the EDP case, but the court postponed the decision.

Before the closing arguments of the Ministry of State (MP) began, Francisco Proenza de Carvalho recalled that as part of this process, a neurological examination had already been carried out, which indicated the defendant’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

“The court already has sufficient grounds to announce a reprieve,” said spokesman Ricardo Salgado, who “out of caution” eventually asked for a new examination to assess the extent of the disease with the aim of stopping the implementation of a possible effective prison sentence that would applied in this trial.

The panel of judges asked for five minutes to think and adjourned the meeting, but one minute was enough to return to the hearing room and announce that this would be considered only after a decision was made: “This matter will be assessed only from the point of view of the execution of the sentence, if convicted.” .

Ricardo Salgado had already undergone a neurological examination late last year, which confirmed that the former banker had a neurological disease.