José Sena Goulão / Lusa
Former Secretary-General of the Socialist Party (PS), Pedro Nuno Santos, makes statements to journalists under the preventive investigation of the Public Prosecution Service (MP), in which he is aimed.
At issue is 90 million euros plus interest granted by the Brazilian Azul airline to TAP. The company has letters signed by Pedro Nuno Santos to ensure that the loan is a bond.
A judicial dispute of the Brazilian airline blue with TAP threatens to complicate the reprivatization of the carrier. At issue is a loan of 90 million euros granted by Azul to TAP in 2016which with interest already rises to 178 million. The central question is to determine the legal nature of this financing: a shareholder supply, without priority guarantees, or a obligationary debt, with rights equivalent to those of ordinary creditors, according to news.
The controversy gained a new breath after Azul introduced letters from the Portuguese government, dating from 2020, where the state, through the then Minister Pedro Nuno Santos and the Secretary of State Miguel Cruz, ensures that the credit would be treated “Pari Passu” with other creditors and that the blue could be considered “Senior Secred Creditor”, along with Parpública. These commitments were decisive for Azul to accept abdicate the right to convert the loan into shares From TAP, an essential measure for state intervention that saved the company from bankruptcy.
If the courts confirm that the loan is a obligationist, the State may have to Pay all the value of the value to bluebecoming responsible for a significant debt. If a supply is considered, TAP can refuse the settlement, leaving the Brazilian company without means to recover the amount.
Azul claims that all entities involved, including regulators and court of Auditors, recognized the CREDIT OBLIGATIONAL NATURE and accuses TAP of trying to circumvent payment by transferring the debt to TAP SGPS, today Siavilo, in the process of insolvency. The Brazilian Company classifies this practice as “hatching”.
In turn, TAP and the current government argue that by David Neeleman – founder of Azul – being a TAP shareholder at the time, the loan must be considered a supply, without privileges in the face of other shareholders.
This dispute arises at a critical moment, with the reprivatization of TAP in preparation. Uncertainty about blue debt poses a relevant risk to potential investors, as associated guarantees include strategic assets such as the Miles & GO loyalty program.
