The constitution of the defendant Ricardo Salgado in Operation Marquis is the culmination of a set of clues that began to be consolidated from the beginning of 2006 — and that would indicate that the Espirito Santo Group (GES) will be on the origin of 17.4 million a total of over 20 million assembled by Carlos Santos Silva, the alleged brow-of-iron José Sócrates, in Swiss bank accounts. According to the Public Ministry (MP), these amounts were intended and were used by the ex-prime minister once they have been transferred to Portugal between December 2010 and April 2011.
The 17.4 million euros, whose financial circuits have been identified with the help of the swiss judicial authorities, have been transferred between April 2006 and may 2009 as compensation for the alleged benefits given by José Sócrates in the various businesses in which the GES has been involved, namely in operations involving the Portugal Telecom Group (PT).
The team led by the prosecutor, Rosario Teixeira you believe you have evidence that Ricardo Salgado will be behind these transfers, and this is the reason for which was the ex-banker as a defendant for the crime of active corruption for illicit act, and so notified to it as the accused on Wednesday in the premises of the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action — where the ex-banker was to make statements between 10h and 17h. Salgado is still suspected of the offences of abuse of trust, influence peddling, money laundering and tax fraud qualified, according to the statement of the Prosecutor General of the Republic (PGR) issued in the early afternoon.
Heard by the judge Carlos Alexandre, the Salt was prohibited from contact with the remaining 14 defendants in the Operation Marquis, among which José Sócrates, and if you leave for abroad. At the end of the due diligence, the ex-leader of BES claimed to reporters that he was "surprised" with the notification to be charged but added that "the justice has the right to investigate all". Salgado reiterated its willingness to "continue to collaborate with the justice, as from the first day".
The conviction of the staff of the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DCIAP) of that Salty is behind the transfers to Carlos Santos Silva has been strengthened by the statements provided by Hélder Bataglia on the 5th of January. After having been charged on 21 April 2016 by letters rogatory for the crimes of active corruption for illicit act, tax fraud and money laundering and have responded to the imputations of the prosecutor Rosário Teixeira in the National Directorate of Investigation and Penal Action, in Luanda, Bataglia presented himself voluntarily in Lisbon to provide more statements in the premises of the DCIAP.
Helder Bataglia, the former president of Escom (Manuel de Almeida/LUSA)
The statements of Hélder Bataglia in DCIAP were of a great importance for the interrogation of Ricardo Salgado for the simple reason that the former leader of the Escom is the man key in all the financial circuits that begin in the GES and end in Carlos Santos Silva — what, in the eyes of the DCIAP, is to say, José Sócrates.
All will have begun in April and may of 2006, when Bataglia received in the accounts of the Union des Banques Suisses (UBS) of Markwell (a society offshore for itself dominated) a total of 7 million transferred by Banco Espírito Santo Angola, then a subsidiary of BES, which was led by Álvaro Sobrinho. In July 2007, Bataglia, manager next to the Salt and that was the face of the financial of the Espírito Santo Group in Africa, has received the most 7 million in the account in switzerland of Markwell. This time, the money came from the Holy Spirit (ES) Enterprises, the famous company that is considered to be the 'bag blue' GES.
Hélder Bataglia has made several applications with these 14 million through another offshore (the Mombaka) and transferred to 9 million between may 2006 and July 2007 to another account at UBS in the name of Gunter Finance — society offshore that belonged to José Paulo Pinto de Sousa.
to Have been the cousin of José Sócrates to transfer a total of 5.468.000 euros in two tranches, between July 2007 and February 2008, to the Giffard Finance Carlos Santos Silva.
This was the first group of transfers that, according to the MP, will be entered in the sphere of José Socrates by Carlos Santos Silva.
Infographic by Maria Gralheiro
During his interrogation, the first of which was in November 2014 when he was detained preventively, Carlos Santos Silva explained these transfers with the realization of real estate business in Angola, namely the sale of land in Benguela (the salt of the Chamume) to an entity of the Group Escom to give rise to a real estate project designated "Residential Condominium Beautiful View".
Already Bataglia said in Luanda in April 2016, in compliance with the letters rogatory issued by the DCIAP, that these transfers accounted for a loan that I would have done the José Paulo Pinto de Sousa, who between 2005 and 2007, went through financial difficulties. Later, in 2012, part of the debt will have been settled with a position in the business of the salt pans of Chamume.
The prosecutor Rosário Teixeira never gave credibility to these versions because there is a big gap between the dates of the transfers (between 2006 and 2008) and the business of salinas (2012).
The second group of transfers has a new character: Joaquim Baroque, ex-administrator of the Lena Group and is also accused in the Operation Marquis for the crimes of active corruption, money laundering and tax fraud qualified.
as Soon as the first of the three interrogations to which he was subject between 23 April and 22 July 2015, Baroque admitted to the prosecutor Rosário Teixeira, who had signed the orders of transfer in blank of their personal accounts in switzerland at UBS and that he had ceded this documentation Carlos Santos Silva for that friend of José Sócrates could move the money deposited in the accounts of the Baroque to the will. More: the then administrator of the Group, Lena will be claimed that always moved funds from the accounts of the UBS traveled to Switzerland, accompanied by Santos Silva.
However, Hélder Bataglia had received in the accounts of the Markwell and Monkway (another society, offshore of the former leader of the Escom) a total of 15 million euros, transferred by ES Enterprises between April 2008 and may 2009.
After Carlos Santos Silva allegedly having transmitted the data of the account of the Baroque in UBS, Hélder Bataglia has transferred a total of approximately € 12.5 million exactly in the same period in which you received the money from the 'bag blue' GES.
later, between June 2008 and June 2009, Carlos Santos Silva you have used the orders of transfer in blank to transfer the same amount to their accounts opened in the name of Pinehill Finance.
In total: the GES will be transferred, through Hélder Bataglia, to Carlos Santos Silva a total of 17.468.000 euros.
Infographic by Maria Gralheiro
The delivery of such funds to the alleged brow-of-iron of Socrates is, in the eyes of the prosecutor Rosário Teixeira, the delivery of the alleged counterparties for several cronyism of the former prime minister over the businesses of Portugal Telecom Group in the GES took part in the following businesses:
- opposition to The TAKEOVER bid of Sonae PT in 2006/2007, with the promise of dividends millionaires;
- The spin-off of PT Multimedia, that allowed for gains of 165 million euros to the GES;
- The sale of Vivo to Telefónica in 2010 for 7.5 billion euros;
- And the purchase of 22,28% of the share capital of Oi by PT for eur 3.5 billion.
Hélder Bataglia will have still participated in transfers of over 4 million euros to the accounts of Carlos Santos Silva (which, according to the MP, had as the recipient José Sócrates), but the source of these funds, nothing has to do with the GES.
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