It was the explanation that was missing in the Operation Marquis , the case of corruption, qualified tax fraud and money laundering that has as its protagonist the former Prime Minister Jose Socrates.
the team that the Central Department of investigation and Penal Action (DCIAP) is trying to finish collecting evidence in order to be able to complete the investigation criminal and proceed with any prosecution, waiting for months to see what would the version of events Hélder Bataglia , the man who, since 1993, led the business of the Espírito Santo Group in Angola and Congo, through a group of companies gathered around a company offshore originally incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, the Escom . Why have channeled Bataglia 12 million between 2008 and 2009 to Joaquim Barroca, owner of Lena Group, through its accounts in Switzerland titrated by two offshore , the Markwell and Monkway?
the thesis that prosecutors built over the last year, has to do with a luxury resort that is a shareholder Battaglia: Vale do Lobo. The suspicion was that the strongman Escom would have to reach 12 million Joaquim Barroca accounts that, in turn, would have transferred shortly thereafter in several tranches, the money to other accounts of Carlos Santos Silva, a businessman and longtime friend of José Sócrates, which, according to the prosecutor Rosario Teixeira, would have interfered when he was prime minister in order to benefit from the project.
Hélder Bataglia says, however, that the transfers in question have nothing to do with either Joaquim Barroca or with himself: “the transfers were made from the Holy Spirit Enterprises” , confesses the Express and TVI , not wanting to give further explanation.
offshore Holy Spirit Enterprises is an alleged slush of the Holy Spirit Group where have passed 300 million of payments to unidentified recipients and that, according to the Panama Papers, it was established in 1993 in the British Virgin Islands, with the chairman Ricardo Salgado and vice President Jose Manuel Holy Spirit. The connection between the Holy Spirit Enterprises and Operation Marquis was already being mentioned as a suspect of the prosecution by the View (this week) and the Correio da Manhã .
Markwell and Monkway are part of a batch of 15 offshore that Battaglia was the beneficiary and that, at some point, come, all of them, be holders of bank accounts at UBS. Each of these offshore was a specialized subject. The chairman of Escom had, for example, a offshore just to pay the cost of your boat. And another that served to cover the cost of the plane. The Markwell, according to sources cross, was an account of passage. The money came from one side and continued to another, and at its source invariably was the Espírito Santo Group.
Faced by Express and the TVI Pedro Delille, one of the defense lawyers of José Sócrates, said the former prime minister “does not have and never had any relationship with Hélder Bataglia or any offshore related to Hélder Bataglia or who to be “ .
According to Delille, ” the release and disclosure of any suspicions relating the name of José Sócrates with Hélder Bataglia or any of these entities is therefore completely unfounded, abusive and slanderous “ . The words of José Sócrates lawyer to Express and TVI were reinforced by a statement sent to the end of the night to newsrooms.
José Sócrates defense communiqué sent to newsrooms
Express and TVI , Battaglia took the opportunity to respond to the research work of the ANCIR, an investigative journalism network in Africa that is involved also in Panama papers, and that is published on these pages. The article, which Expresso published in full, is focused on the role that Markwell – precisely the same offshore that appears in Operation Marquis – had to obtain from oil wells exploration licenses in Angola <. / p>
“Unable this time to specify the exact date, I remember the celebration of this contract, among others of the same nature.”
* with João Vieira Pereira
No comments:
Post a Comment