Ricardo Salgado to be tried for two further crimes, this time tax fraud
The pursuit of former banker Ricardo Salgado, these days debilitated by Alzheimer’s disease, continues – in spite of arguments by his defence team that he is in no position to defend himself.
DCIAP, the central department of investigation and criminal action, has announced today that the 80-year-old, who relies completely on others for the most basic tasks, is to be tried for two crimes of tax fraud, in a case related to the ‘Espírito Santo’ universe – the banking empire that collapsed owing billions of euros, in 2014.
According to the note published by DCIAP, the Central Criminal Investigation Court has “fully confirmed the accusation made by the Public Prosecutor’s Office” last Friday. Of the two crimes (of qualified tax fraud), one was allegedly committed in co-authorship with his cousin Manuel Espírito Santo Silva, also a defendant in this case.
The investigation carried out in conjunction with PJ Judicial Police and the Large Taxpayers Unit, concluded that Ricardo Salgado and Manuel Espírito Santo Silva had defrauded the Portuguese State of almost €5.5 million.
This amount was, according to the Public Prosecutor’s accusation, received by both men through the well-known “saco azul” (slush fund) of the Espírito Santo Group and as such was not declared.
These latest charges were filed in January 2024, with the Public Prosecutor’s Office stating at the time that suspicions relate to the allocation of fees through non-resident entities belonging to the Espírito Santo Group.
The case arises from a certificate extracted from the 2020 indictment, regarding the main case regarding Banco Espírito Santo and Group Espírito Santo, whose trial began last year and is still ongoing, in which Mr Salgado faces dozens of criminal charges, which his defence has consistently argued are pointless given the debilitated condition of their client. ND
Source material: LUSA
