Lisbon, Oct. 15, 2024 (Lusa) - A decade after the collapse of the Espírito Santo Group (GES) in Portugal, the trial of the biggest case in the Espírito Santo Universe begins on Tuesday, with the former head of group, Ricardo Salgado, as the main face of the 18 official suspects (15 people and three companies).

The first session is scheduled for 9.30am at the Lisbon Central Criminal Court and takes place four years and three months after the public prosecutor's (‘MP’) indictment was handed down in July 2020, which, following around six years of investigation, built up a mega-case with 25 official suspects, including 18 people and seven companies.

Since then, the pre-trial hearing has taken place (in which the judges hear arguments from the defence and prosecution lawyers and decide whether the case should go to trial), which has almost entirely confirmed the prosecution's thesis. This procedural phase even brought in a few more defendants, but they have since been removed from this case, while some of the defendants charged in 2020 ended up being cleared of the charges and others died during this period, such as former director José Manuel Espírito Santo.

Thus, a total of 18 official suspects will answer in court, allegedly responsible for committing more than 300 crimes between 2009 and 2014. Here are the defendants and the offences involved in the BES/GES trial:

+++ Ricardo Salgado +++

Now 80, the former banker was the main face of the Espírito Santo Group (GES) and led the Banco Espírito Santo (BES) for more than two decades, until he was forced out of the chair of the institution under pressure from the Bank of Portugal in June 2014. Two months later, in August, the resolution of BES was announced, following the collapse of a group present in almost every sector of the economy.

The end of BES marked the beginning of legal problems for Ricardo Salgado, who is now struggling with Alzheimer's disease, according to medical reports presented by the defence. The former banker is the central figure in the so-called Espírito Santo Universe, which has since been divided into seven cases, and has already been convicted in two other cases: the case extracted from Operation Marquês, in which he is appealing an eight-year prison sentence, and the EDP case, in which he was sentenced to six years and three months in prison.

In the BES/GES case, Ricardo Salgado was accused of 65 offences, but three offences were statute-barred before the start of the trial, so he is now only in court for 62 offences. These include one offence of criminal association, 12 offences of active corruption in the private sector, 29 offences of qualified fraud, five offences of infidelity, one offence of market manipulation, seven offences of money laundering and seven offences of falsifying documents.

+++ Francisco Machado da Cruz +++

Known as ‘comissaire aux comptes’ (auditor) within the GES, Francisco Machado da Cruz was the group's accountant between 2002 and 2014 and was accused of falsifying the accounts of Espírito Santo International (ESI). He had been aware of the company's insolvency situation since 2009, allegedly acting on instructions from Ricardo Salgado to hide the debt and manipulate the financial information.

Despite cooperating with the authorities, Francisco Machado da Cruz was charged in 2020 with 36 offences, three of which have already been declared statute-barred, leaving 33 offences: one of criminal association, one of passive corruption in the private sector, 20 of qualified fraud, five of money laundering, four of market manipulation and two of document forgery.

+++ Amílcar Morais Pires +++

After holding various positions since he joined in 1986, Amílcar Morais Pires was financial director of BES between 2004 and 2014 and became a kind of ‘right-hand man’ of Ricardo Salgado, who even appointed him to replace him at the head of the bank.

The Public Prosecutor's Office charged him with a total of 25 offences, but one offence of dishonesty has already been statute-barred, so he is facing trial for a total of 24 offences: one of criminal association, one of passive corruption in the private sector, 11 of qualified fraud, seven of money laundering, two of document forgery, one of dishonesty and one of market manipulation.

+++ Isabel Almeida +++

A former auditor at PwC, Isabel Almeida joined BES in 1995 and only left the group in 2016. At the bank she became director of the finance, markets and studies department and in 2009 she became an advisor to the BES Board of Directors, reporting to Morais Pires.

She was initially accused of 21 offences, but two were dropped during the preliminary ruling. One of two women accused in this main Espírito Santo case, she will be tried for 19 offences, including one of criminal association, one of passive corruption in the private sector, one of market manipulation, five of money laundering and 11 of qualified fraud.

+++ António Soares +++

António Soares joined BES in 1991 as a trader in the Money Markets and Treasury Department. In 2005, he became director of the finance, markets and studies department, a position he held almost until the bank's collapse in 2014 and which he accumulated between 2012 and 2014 with the role of member of the board of directors of BES Vida.

The Public Prosecutor's Office charged him in 2020 with 17 offences, and he was eventually convicted of 15, namely one of criminal association, one of passive corruption in the private sector, one of market manipulation, six of money laundering and another six of qualified fraud.

+++ Paulo Ferreira +++

A former director of BES's finance, markets and studies department, where he was also responsible for the bank's debt issuance and money market areas, Paulo Ferreira also took charge of that department's back-office services, reporting to Isabel Almeida.

In court, he will have to answer for the alleged commission of seven offences: one of criminal association, one of passive corruption in the private sector, one of market manipulation, one of money laundering and three of aggravated fraud.

+++ Pedro Almeida e Costa +++

Pedro Almeida e Costa joined BES in 1998 as assistant director of the finance, markets and studies department. He worked in the disintermediation and credit areas of BES Vida and in 2005 moved to the executive committee of ESAF SGPS, reporting to Ricardo Salgado and Morais Pires.

The Public Prosecutor's Office charged Pedro Almeida e Costa with 10 offences, but he ended up standing trial for only seven: one of passive corruption in the private sector, one of market manipulation, two of money laundering and three of qualified fraud.

+++ Cláudia Boal Faria +++

Cláudia Boal Faria joined BES in 1996 in the Large Companies and International area, moving in 2000 to the finance, markets and studies department, where she became deputy director between 2009 and 2013.

Cláudia Boal Faria, the second woman on trial, has been charged with six offences, but will only be tried for a total of five, including one of criminal association, one of passive corruption in the private sector, one of market manipulation and two of qualified fraud.

+++ Pedro Cohen Serra +++

The former deputy director of the finance, markets and studies department was responsible for intervening in the stock market and global markets, as part of the management of BES's own securities portfolio.

Pedro Cohen Serra will be charged with seven offences, including one of criminal association, one of passive corruption in the private sector, one of market manipulation, one of document forgery, one of money laundering and two of aggravated fraud.

+++ Nuno Escudeiro +++

Nuno Escudeiro joined BES in 1998, working in the back-office of the markets room, where he had to check the compliance of operations ordered by the other members of the department. In 2010 he took on the role of deputy director and was responsible for managing the portfolios of products offered in insurance banking on behalf of BES Vida, as well as managing BES's portfolios in the area of credit risk.

The Public Prosecutor's Office accused him of committing eight offences, and he will still have to stand trial for allegedly committing one offence of criminal association, one offence of passive corruption in the private sector, one offence of market manipulation, one offence of falsifying a document, two offences of money laundering and two offences of qualified fraud.

+++ Pedro Pinto +++

Pedro Pinto joined BES in 1999 to work in the finance, markets and studies department, working directly with more officials suspects. In 2009, he began working in the discretionary management of portfolios that BES offered to clients.

The Public Prosecutor's Office considered that Pedro Pinto was responsible for 18 offences. However, he will only be tried for 17, due to the statute of limitations on one offence of infidelity, leaving one offence of criminal association, one offence of passive corruption in the private sector, one offence of market manipulation, one offence of falsifying a document, one offence of dishonesty and six offences of money laundering and six offences of qualified fraud.

+++ Manuel Fernando Espírito Santo +++

Ricardo Salgado's cousin and the only member of the Espírito Santo family to stand trial apart from the former chairman of BES, Manuel Fernando Espírito Santo headed one of the five branches of GES. He was a director for two decades at BES and chairman of the non-financial company Rioforte for the last two years.

At issue in the trial for Manuel Fernando Espírito Santo are eight offences, all of them of qualified fraud.

+++ João Martins Pereira +++

A former compliance officer, João Martins Pereira was an auditor at PwC before joining the bank in 2003 to work as an advisor to the BES Board of Directors. He will be tried for three offences of qualified fraud, all in co-authorship with several other defendants.

+++ Etienne Alexandre Cadosch +++

A Swiss national, Etienne Alexandre Cadosch joined the GES in the mid-1990s and a few years later was involved in the process of setting up a group of companies called Eurofin, becoming a shareholder in Eurofin UK and a member of the board of several subsidiaries.

The court will try Etienne Alexandre Cadosch for 18 offences, including one of criminal association, one of passive corruption in the private sector, one of market manipulation, one of infidelity, one of document forgery, six of aggravated fraud and seven of money laundering.

+++ Michel Charles Creton +++

Also a Swiss national, Michel Creton began his career before 2006 at EUROFIN UK, a company of which he became a shareholder in 2008. Two years later, he became a shareholder in Eurofin Holding, gaining a seat on its board of directors, and became chairman of Europfin Capital.

The court will try the Swiss national for 17 offences, namely one of criminal association, one of market manipulation, one of document forgery, one of infidelity, six of aggravated fraud and seven of money laundering.

+++ Companies Rio Forte Investments, Espírito Santo Irmãos, SGPS and Eurofin +++

There are three companies charged with offences in this trial: Rio Forte Investments, which is charged with a total of seven offences - one of criminal association and six of aggravated fraud; Eurofin, which is charged with 15 offences, including one of criminal association, one of passive corruption in the private sector, one of document forgery, six of aggravated fraud and six of money laundering; and finally Espírito Santo Irmãos, SGPS, which is charged with two offences, criminal association and aggravated fraud.

JGO/AYLS // AYLS

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