Former BES president, Ricardo Salgado, said in Santarém on Tuesday that he has never bribed anyone in his life and that he has “a perfectly clear conscience.”
Questioned by reporters outside a hearing over Salgado’s €4 million fine, the former banker said he is sure to be cleared of the accusations in Operation Marquês.
"I can assure you that I have never bribed anyone in my entire life and 73 years have gone by and my lawyers have already said that I have committed no crime. So when the investigation comes to an end, I am sure I will be cleared of this monstrosity," said Salgado.
The Bank of Portugal fine was for switching safe deposits to risky investments in failing Grupo Espírito Santo companies. The hearing was at the Competition, Regulation and Supervision Court in Santarém.
The former banker said that the State’s seizure of his pension is having a "tremendous impact" on his life and that he is trying to adapt his straightened circumstances.
"I have spent all my life as a banker with a very high amount of capital and now I am practically reduced to two minimum wages," said Salgado who must struggle by on €1,114 a month after his pensions were nabbed by the State, on account of the money the banker already has cost the taxpayer.
Ricardo Salgado stated that his lawyers’ analysis of the investigative process of Operation Marquis, which culminated in the accusation that he was the main corrupter of the former Prime Minster, José Sócrates, is still in the early stages, but that he has a "perfectly clear conscience."
