TAP manager Fernando Pinto will have received 2 million: privatization passed with a fine-toothed comb

Four defendants — two people and two companies — during yesterday’s searches in 25 locations. Operation flight TP789 puts former CEO at the center of suspicion.

This Tuesday, the Public Ministry constituted four defendants, two people and two companiesin “Operation flight TP789”, after , to Grupo Barraqueiro and Parpública in connection with the privatization of the airline in 2015.

“As part of an investigation led by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP), it is reported that, following the searches carried out today, four defendants were identified: two natural persons and two legal persons”, states the DCIAP website.

The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) stated that it took place searches in 25 locationswhich include companies such as TAP, Grupo Barraqueiro and Parpública, law firms and chartered accountant firms and no arrests are planned.

The police operation included searches at the residence of Pedro Ferreira Pinto, former president of Parpública and a figure with a relevant role in the privatization process. Several law firms, including Cuatrecasas, PLMJ, Vieira de Almeida and Rogério Alves & Associados, were also the subject of investigations within the scope of the process.

Former CEO at the center of suspicion

The Public Prosecutor’s investigation puts Fernando Pintoformer administrator of the airline, at the center of suspicion.

DCIAP believes that the former manager will have taken decisions that benefited the Atlantic Gateway consortiumby David Neeleman and Humberto Pedrosa, later receiving more than two million eurosaccording to .

Between 2018 and 2020, through the company Free Flight Consulting, Pinto earned almost two million euros from TAP, in addition to 85 thousand euros from HPGB, linked to Humberto Pedrosa, in a scenario that raises strong signs of conflict of interest.

During his tenure at TAP, Fernando Pinto also signed a consultancy contract with Seabury, valued at around 20 million euros, and which, according to researchers, did not serve to support the public company, but rather to prepare the entry of private capital into the group. It is suspected that TAP has borne costs intended to favor external investors.