Lisbon, Oct. 29, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Judicial Police force is conducting searches at the headquarters of Novo Banco and at the premises of the consulting firm KPMG in Lisbon on Wednesday, as part of an investigation into suspected active and passive corruption, the police announced.
In a statement, the Judicial Police (PJ - the country's main criminal investigation agency) said that the operation, entitled “Hair-Cut”, aims to execute “dozens of search and seizure warrants and computer searches, investigating facts that may constitute the crimes of passive and active corruption in the private sector, aggravated fraud and money laundering”.
At issue are suspicions of “illegalities in the sale of real estate assets held by a banking institution financially supported by the Portuguese State, through the national bank Resolution Fund, resulting in substantial losses for the Bank in question and for the interests of the State”. CNN Portugal, which broke the news of the searches, reports that it concerns the now defunct Banco Espírito Santo.
The operation, led by the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DCIAP) and carried out through the National Anti-Corruption Unit (UNCC) of the PJ, involves more than 100 members of the PJ, 14 public prosecutors, three criminal investigation judges and a member of the Tax Authority (AT).
According to the statement, the investigation is continuing with the analysis of the evidence gathered, “with a view to fully investigating all criminal conduct and swiftly concluding the investigations”.
In a press release, KPMG Portugal confirmed that judicial authorities are conducting investigations at its offices in Lisbon to gather information about one of its clients, without naming the client.
"KPMG Portugal is not a target of the operation and remains, as always, available to cooperate with the judicial authorities in every way possible," the statement said.
Lusa contacted Novo Banco and is awaiting a response.
The government and the Resolution Fund signed agreements today in Lisbon to sell Novo Banco to the French banking group BPCE.
Novo Banco was created in 2014 to take over part of Banco Espírito Santo’s banking activity following its collapse.
In 2017, the majority of the Novo Banco's capital was sold to the private equity group, Lone Star. A mechanism was then agreed whereby, in the following years, the banking Resolution Fund injected €3.405 billion into Novo Banco, causing considerable political and media controversy.
With the early end of this mechanism at the end of 2024, it became possible to sell the bank and pay dividends to shareholders. Currently, the US fund Lone Star holds 75%, the Directorate-General for Treasury and Finance holds 11.46% and the Resolution Fund holds 13.54%.
In June, the sale to BPCE was agreed for €6.4 billion.
The government said at the time that the sale of Novo Banco, combined with the distribution of dividends that took place this year, allowed “the state to recover almost €2 billion of the public funds injected into the institution”.
In August, according to the press, a contract for the sale of Novo Banco was signed between Lone Star and BPCE.
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