Millennium BCP banker drove off cliff, taking family with her, to avoid showdown
The bizarre story of a mother of two driving off a cliff near Cascais last December, killing herself and her mother (who was in the passenger seat), has had a deeply chilling update.
Everything points to 45-year-old Raquel Godinho having planned the tragedy, meaning to kill her two teenage sons, who were travelling in the back of the car, as well.
Miraculously, the boys managed to escape the car as it floated upside down in a grotto, and clamber onto rocks for safety.
At the time, there were no explanations for the tragedy.
Now, it is clear that Raquel Godinho, working at Millennium Bank in Ericeira, appears to have been in charge of customer accounts that show large withdrawals – more than €3 million appears to have been ‘taken out of accounts’, without the account holders being aware, explain reports.
When they asked to see their balances, or a statement, Ms Godinho is understood to have told them the computer system was down, or something similar.
“Raquel always managed to head them off”, explains Correio da Manhã, which broke the story – and is due to televise its ‘investigation’ (Desespero de Morte/ Death’s Despair) on CMTV at 9.30pm this evening.
Today’s edition adds that the bank has now scheduled meetings with the “victims of the millionaire heist”.
One of the Millennium’s clients who claims to have lost “more than €125,000”, but who does not want to be identified, told CM: “The bank started to concern itself with this matter after Correio da Manhã broke the story. It has scheduled a meeting with me for February 21 in the (Mafra) branch to try and find a solution”.
Another customer who says she lost €300,000 tells the paper she has a meeting with the bank this week, in the company of her lawyer, “because I have demanded that they give me back the €300,000 they stole!”
CM stresses none of the victims really suspected anything before Raquel Godinho’s death, and the form in which it happened.
The paper explains that it has since become clear that the single mother was due that very morning to face superiors over discrepancies discovered in the accounts that she managed. ND
Source material: Correio da Manhã/ Jornal de Notícias
