An instructive debate on the BES/GES trial is set to begin on Tuesday at the Monsanto Court in Lisbon, after a lack of notice from some defendants forced the case to be adjourned in April.
At a brief hearing on the 11th, investigating judge Pedro Santos Correia adjourned the proceedings due to lack of notice from defendants Etienne Kadoche and Michel Creton, as well as from Eurofin.
The lawyer for these defendants, Thiago Rodríguez Bastos, then emphasized that the law requires the presence of the defendant at the preliminary debate and provides that he may not attend only if he directly resigns after being notified of his appearance.
The judge also reserved the court session for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in case the mock debate needed to be extended.
Witnesses questioned include former Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, former Governor of Banco de Portugal Carlos Costa, or former President of Banco Espírito Santo Investimento (BESI) José María Riccardi.
The mock debate took place one year after the start of the training phase at the Central Criminal Court, on April 26, 2022, then still in the hands of Judge Ivo Rosa (replaced by Pedro Santos Correia in September by decision of Pedro Santos Correia). Supreme Council of the Judiciary) and almost three years after it became known about the accusation of the deputy.
On July 14, 2020, an investigation by the Central Directorate of Investigation and Criminal Affairs (DCIAP) resulted in the indictment of 25 defendants (18 individuals and seven companies), including former Espírito Santo Group (GES) President Ricardo Salgado. .
The former banker is credited with 65 crimes, namely the criminal community, active corruption, document forgery, skilled fraud, money laundering, adultery and market manipulation.
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.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal

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