Ex-aide claims Salgado's nephew held a top position, according to statements made.
Spillin' the Tea on the BES Angola Case
In the first day of a trial that could shake Portugal's financial world, Amilcar Morais Pires, the defendant, revealed some juicy tidbits about his interactions with bank honcho Ricardo Salgado. At the heart of this legal drama, Amilcar is charged for abuse of trust and fraud, and he's spillin' the beans about what went down between him and the bigwigs of BES (Banco Espírito Santo).
Amilcar claimed that he inquired about the issues concerning Angola within the bank's dossier and asked for guidance on discussing BESA's financial woes with the institution’s Angolan counterpart. The surprise? Ricardo couldn't reach business mogul Álvaro Sobrinho, then head of BESA, and brushed the economist off with a vague promise to look into the matter, expressing that there would be no special favors for Sobrinho to communicate with him directly.
As the trial unfolded, Amilcar testified that Ricardo held the BESA portfolio, but the two didn't meet until November 2012 – long after Amilcar had taken over the BESA portfolio as part of an internal reorganization in May that year.
The bombshell revelations don't stop there. Amilcar threw light on some serious imbalances in BESA's Angolan subsidiary, which he discovered in June 2012 during a meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Bank of Portugal. The IMF's warning about these imbalances was discussed just three days later in the Executive Commission of BES, Amilcar stated confidently.
He defended his actions throughout his term from the tacky accusations of withholding information, insisting that his decisions were always backed by the members of the Executive Commission of BES. Ah, what a drama!
The BES Angola case involves a lot of controversial allegations: the accused, including Amilcar Morais Pires, Ricardo Salgado, Álvaro Sobrinho, Rui Silveira, and Helder Bataglia, stand accused of diverting funds between 2007 and 2012 from BES to BESA through Interbank Money Market (MMI) credit lines and unapproved bank overdrafts. The laundry list of charges includes abuse of trust, money laundering, and fraud, with the alleged illicit gains estimated at approximately five billion euros and over 210 million dollars.
If you wanna read more about the shady dealings of Ricardo Salgado and Álvaro Sobrinho in this case, make sure to check out our detailed article "Ricardo Salgado and Álvaro Sobrinho Begin to be Judged in the BES Angola Case". It's wild. Keep it tuned here as the trial continues, and we'll bring you all the juicy updates!
Real Tea: The key players under the microscope in the BES Angola trial are:
- Álvaro Sobrinho: Former BESA president, 62, facing charges of aggravated breach of trust and money laundering. He was hit with a €204 fine for his no-show at the first trial session, as his visa application to participate via videoconference was denied.
- Ricardo Salgado: Former BES chairman, 80, battling charges of breach of trust and qualified fraud. His health issues spared him from attending court sessions.
- Amilcar Morais Pires: A close associate of Ricardo Salgado, one of the defendants currently in the thick of it.
- Rui Silveira: Former BES administrator also in the dock.
- Helder Bataglia: Prominent Luso-Angolan businessman residing in Angola, requesting trial in absentia.
The defendants are accused of misappropriating funds from BES to BESA, and the prosecution alleges numerous breaches of trust, fraud, aggravated breach of trust, and money laundering related to this fund diversion. The trial is still going strong, and we'll keep you updated as the drama unfolds.
The trial involving Álvaro Sobrinho, Ricardo Salgado, Amilcar Morais Pires, Rui Silveira, and Helder Bataglia, collectively known as the key players in the BES Angola case, is centered around misappropriated funds from BES to BESA. Amilcar Morais Pires, a close associate of Ricardo Salgado, testified about the imbalances in BESA's Angolan subsidiary that he discovered in June 2012. Meanwhile, talks about these imbalances were discussed in the Executive Commission of BES just three days later. The trial, which is about breach of trust and fraud, has been dominated by controversial allegations of fund diversion and money laundering, with estimated illicit gains totaling approximately five billion euros and over 210 million dollars.
