In update

The Public Ministry requested a sentence of “nothing less” than 9 years in prison for Manuel Pinho, during the final arguments of the EDP process, but the defense of the former Minister of Economy guarantees that “the version of the Public Ministry effectively has no basis” and requested this Wednesday the acquittal of all the crimes – corruption, money laundering and tax fraud – of which he has been accused.

The final arguments of Ricardo Sá Fernandes, Manuel Pinho’s lawyer, began this Tuesday morning and it took more than six hours to dismantle the accusation. In the end, and in the presence of Alexandra Pinho and Manuel Pinho, this Wednesday morning, the defense summarized their ideas: “I hope for justice.”. “No evidence has been provided that the charges were improper,” added Sá Fernandes, regarding the BES payments to Manuel Pinho.

The last part of the accusations was reserved, above all, to the crime of tax fraud, related to non-payment of taxes in 2011 and 2012. For the Public Ministry, it is clear that the former minister did not declare the income paid. by the Espírito Santo Group (GES) so that they could be hidden. Pinho’s defense, however, has an explanation, despite admitting that the crime of tax fraud was committed, the only crime that he, in fact, recognizes. “He made the substitute statements on May 30 [de 2013] and paid the respective taxes for the years 2011 and 2012. Regarding the crimes of 2012, he regularized the situation within the deadline. In relation to 2011, there is crime. But should he be punished? If you regularized this without any process, our answer is no, you should not be sanctioned,” she explained.

Final arguments of the EDP case. Deputy asks for at least 9 years in prison for Manuel Pinho and between six and seven years for Ricardo Salgado

This Monday, on the first day of final arguments, the Public Ministry requested, in addition to the sentencing of Manuel Pinho, a prison sentence of between 6 and 7 years for Ricardo Salgado for the crimes of corruption and money laundering and four years for Alexandra Pinho for the crimes of money laundering and tax fraud. According to the accusation presented by the deputy, Manuel Pinho is accused of two crimes of passive corruption, one of them for an illegal act, a crime of money laundering and another crime of tax fraud and the court decided to maintain all the crimes, as indicated. in the accusation. Alexandra Pinho is responsible for the crimes of money laundering and tax fraud, both in material co-authorship and in effective competition with her ex-husband. And Ricardo Salgado was prosecuted for two crimes of active corruption and one crime of money laundering.

According to the Public Ministry, Manuel Pinho was corrupted by Ricardo Salgado, when he was responsible for the Economy portfolio in the Government of José Sócrates, and received a monthly payment of 14,963.94 euros through the company. offshore Espírito Santo Enterprises — the well-known blue stock of Grupo Espírito Santo (GES). In total, the former Minister of Economy will have received a total of 3.9 million euros from the GES and Ricardo Salgado will have given the order to make these payments. The objective of the former BES leader would be to favor the family group, specifically to approve the Comporta and Pinheirinho farms as a “Project of National Interest.”

“This accusation is a joke.”

After the final arguments of Manuel Pinho’s defense, and without rest, Manuel Magalhães e Silva, Alexandra Pinho’s lawyer, stood up to attack the Public Ministry’s accusation, thus following the former minister’s line of defense. “This accusation is a mistake,” he began by saying, addressing prosecutor Rui Batista.

“For now it is a text in bad taste, it is something ugly. Creating a situation in which you want to prove certain facts with something that does not deserve legal intelligence is really serious,” he added, before talking about the two crimes of tax fraud and money laundering of which Alexandra Pinho is accused.