Manuel de Almeida / Lusa
Pedro Passos Coelho on the Criminal Court of Lisbon
“I don’t feel responsible for what happened at Banco Espírito Santo.” Former Prime Minister was heard in court.
The former Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho Said expecting the criminal process of collapse in 2014 from Banco Espírito Santo (BES) and Espírito Santo Group (GES) Finish “without the blame dies single.”
“We will know at the end of the judgment what proves in the bank’s own management. Certainly there was responsibility that must be determined and, like any interested citizen, I hope the process can conclude without fault dies single“The head of government said at the time of BES resolution.
Pedro Passos Coelho was talking about the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon, where he was heard on Tuesday as a witness in the trial of the main proceedings of BES/GES.
“I don’t feel responsible for what happened at Banco Espírito Santo. He had no responsibilities in Banco Espírito Santo, ”he said, arguing that he acted“ according to the interpretation ”he made of“ the collective interest ”and the state.
“I believe,, […] And it is my appreciation, whether the Banco de Portugal, essentially, the government proceeded, in view of that circumstance, in order to defend the public interest as much as possible, ”he insisted.
“Police case”
Inside, Passos Coelho said that he had suggested to the then banker Ricardo Salgado to negotiate with the Creditors of the Espírito Santo Group (Ges) one.
When Nuno Silva Vieira, lawyer of assistant victims in the process, asked the former Prime Minister if bank losses were linked to the market or mismanagementPassos Coelho replied that he didn’t know these points and warned that when he realized the process, he saw that it was a police case.
“I am not responsible for knowing these issues. I know there was an imbalance in the accounts and that Banco de Portugal was very surprised. It seems very clear to me that BES’s exposure to the Espírito Santo group has aggravated this imbalance. Me It seemed like a clear police case. I convinced myself that it was a police caseIt is not up to me to determine whether or not it was. I think the supervisor was very brave because so far no one had sent a letter to Bes to give orders to whatever it was. Alias was so unprecedented that even the president of the bank complained, ”quotes.
Passos Coelho saw a Banco de Portugal team, “Day and Night”following the situation of GES – and says that even the Central Bank was surprised with the BES accounts.
“There was such a harsh follow -up of the regulator, it didn’t seem to me that there was a gross negligence,” he said, while Praised Carlos Costa, “a person with courage” which was at the time governor of Banco de Portugal.
The process currently has 18 defendants, including former BES president Ricardo Salgado, 80 years old and diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Ricardo Salgado is responsible for about 60 crimes, including one of criminal association and several of active corruption in the private sector and qualified scam.
The Public Prosecution Service estimates that acts allegedly practiced between 2009 and 2014 by the 18 defendants, former BES and other GES entities, caused losses of 11.8 billion euros to the bank and the group.
The trial began on October 30, 2024.
