Álvaro Sobrinho, who recently had his Portuguese passport revoked due to loss of nationality, has filed a request with the court, arguing that the 90-day visa issued by the Portuguese consulate in Luanda, Angola, is insufficient for attending all sessions of the BES Angola (BESA) trial. With 45 sessions scheduled until the end of the year, Sobrinho’s legal team asserts that the Portuguese state must ensure conditions for his attendance, as his presence is a legal requirement, highlighting a perceived inconsistency from the authorities.
Sobrinho refuses to attend based on the current visa, fearing it could “seriously harm” his defense, and has requested a visa review from the consulate. Despite the visa’s issuance, the defense claims Sobrinho is “prevented from entering Portuguese territory to be physically present at trial hearings.”
The defense’s request, submitted to the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon, states: “Not wishing to delay the proceedings already scheduled, it is requested that the Defendant be allowed to attend trial hearings remotely, through Webex or another method deemed more convenient by the Court.”
On Friday, it was revealed that another key defendant in the case, former banker of Banco Espírito Santo (BES) and leader of Grupo Espírito Santo (GES), has been excused by the court due to an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Former banker Ricardo Salgado has been excused from attending the BESA trial sessions due to his Alzheimer’s diagnosis and the associated “specific physical and psychological limitations” acknowledged by the court.
In the BESA trial, commencing on Monday at the Campus de Justiça in Lisbon, Ricardo Salgado and the former president of the bank’s Angolan subsidiary, Álvaro Sobrinho, face charges of breach of trust, fraud, and money laundering. The case involves the alleged diversion of funds between 2007 and 2012 from the BES to the BES Angola through Interbank Money Market credit lines and bank overdrafts.
Álvaro Sobrinho, aged 62, is charged with 18 counts of aggravated breach of trust and five of money laundering, while Ricardo Salgado, aged 80, faces five counts of breach of trust and one of aggravated fraud. BES collapsed in the summer of 2014, with BES Angola being liquidated in October of the same year.
