On July 8, the Civil Local Court of Cascais declared the legal guardianship for Ricardo Salgado, an 81-year-old suffering from Alzheimer’s, limiting his rights and appointing his wife as his guardian, effective January 1, 2019.
Following this decision, the former president of Banco Espírito Santo’s defense team filed a request on August 29 with the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon, where the Operation Marquês trial is underway. They argue that this constitutes a new legally relevant fact, potentially allowing judges to reconsider the termination of proceedings against Ricardo Salgado or, alternatively, to suspend proceedings for the duration of his medical condition.
Today, at the start of the eighth session of the trial, the presiding judge, Susana Seca, announced that the Cascais court’s ruling has been received and granted all parties ten days to respond before the court makes a decision.
Ricardo Salgado is among 21 defendants in the Operation Marquês case, facing charges related to eight counts of money laundering and three counts of active corruption, including an instance where former Prime Minister José Sócrates (2005-2011) is allegedly involved.
The trial commenced on July 3, with the defendants generally denying the 117 charges collectively brought against them.
