ESCOM: “I should have received 30 million and did not get” – TVI24

ESCOM: "I should have received 30 million and did not get" – TVI24

ESCOM, a company of Espírito Santo Group that is dedicated to real estate and the extraction of diamonds in Angola, was promised to Sonangol, but the deal never came to materialize, although it has been paid a signal. “In practice, who brought the business to Dr. Ricardo Salgado was me,” admitted, on Tuesday in Parliament, the President of ESCOM, claiming that she should have received about 30 million euros (20% of the signal) and did not see the money, because in fact, what happened was a business Ghost .

“There was a strategic interest from Sonangol to acquire ESCOM ‘, began by explaining Hélder Bataglia Members of the inquiry committee to BES / GES.

Questioned at that time, the Member of the CDS-PP Cecilia Meireles, explained that were paid 82 million euros signal (this committee has been said so far, in 52 million). ‘In practice, I should also have received 30 million and did not get’ elucidated. Who received then? “According to said Dr. Sobrinho [former president of the BESA] was the ES Resources’, the holding company of the Holy Spirit Group responsible for the non-financial investments of the group.

“The GES said it had already sold ESCOM, Angolans said they had not purchased. And we were in the middle “

Helder Battaglia said Sobrinho, moreover, had” an interest “in the operation came to fruition. Was he the owner of Newbrook, the company that acted as a facilitator in the business, representing Sonangol, and who paid the such signal. There is some confusion about the numbers. Cecilia Meireles quoted a document that indicates that the signal would be 97 million euros. Even if it were so, the 20% that Battaglia would be entitled would be less than EUR 20 million and not 30 million, but he himself has shown to be absolutely sure of the numbers. And did not care to not receive soon.

sure there was at the time of the deal, in 2010, was “urgency” of the GES to perform the operation later this year. It was always Ricardo Salgado who led :

“In business this size, we have to be very disciplined. The path that I followed was [leave] person [Ricardo Salgado], the majority shareholder, to handle the situation. I’m from Angola, live in Angola. I realized that there was misunderstanding. I was told that it would implement the sale of ESCOM ‘.

Regardless of sale, Battaglia keep “a position of 10% ‘in ESCOM. “One of the conditions of the sale was always me to stay as CEO. Always accepted by the company, to believe and to realize the project, “he explained. He did not care, until, neither have just received their part of the signal. “With a partner like the BES or the GES that for about 20 years, was able to support the funding and this whole situation for me was not majority receive 20% of the signal.”

Why is it that the deal did not come, then, to materialize? “I imagine that the buyer was aware of the losses in Luó [An exploration of diamond mine ] ‘. Something that the president of ESCOM could not confirm. About what kind of contract was concerned, assured that it was ‘buying and selling’ and not of purchase and sale.

ESCOM continues to exist and, supposedly, to have as a shareholder majority the GES by ES Resources. The company has 1200 jobs in Angola and is experiencing difficulties. The accounts are ‘frozen’ since the resolution measure taken by the Bank of Portugal, who shared the BES in two – a toxic and another good, the New Bank – revealed yet. Another administrator, Luis Horta e Costa, already heard this inquiry committee also realized unpaid precisely since August.

At his hearing, the president of ESCOM has also has, to Members, the 27 million premiums received by directors of this company in the Espírito Santo Group that is dedicated to real estate and the extraction of diamonds in Angola as well as by members of the High Council of the Espírito Santo Group, were even ‘bonus’ and ensured that come into the hands of the deputies a “exhaustive list” on who received how much and what.

He added also that the BES financed ‘in 300 and many millions of dollars “ESCOM .

Already on BESA, who was also a director, and has even reached the partner bank led by Álvaro Sobrinho by 2012, Battaglia praised the former president of BES Angola, saying that Nephews made “an outstanding job” and that Ricardo Salgado own him as a “great banker» . It is recalled that Salgado pulled him from the bank commands for having allegedly found a “dreadful situation”.