Two directors of BES, who moved across to Novo Banco when the failed bank was divided, have been made arguidos as a result of information obtained during Thursday’s widespread searches of homes and business premises in the Espírito Santo corruption and money laundering case.
Former BES boss Ricardo Salgado had his Cascais luxury home searched along with 33 other private properties and six offices of companies in the financial sector.
The news of directors Isabel Almeida and António Soares' new status as official suspects was released to the media as another example of the sieve-like secrecy surrounding the investigation as newspaper Publico and TV station TVI published and broadcast the information which quickly was picked up by other news services.
The directors have been linked to the sale to unwitting customers of Grupo Espírito Santo debt across the Banco Espírito Santo branch network.
The Espírito Santo criminal case is looking at basic aggravated fraud, breach of trust, forgery, money laundering and tax fraud, according to the Attorney General's Office but the leaks relating to the investigation are turning into a flood of information that is being greeted with glee by the media and concern by the judiciary which is concerned that the lack of secrecy may be grounds for dismissal.
In the parallel José Sócrates case, the former Attorney General, Pinto Monteiro said today that the details leaked to the press about the case against the former prime minister could only be known by those involved in the investigation and this leaking of information is a clear and demonstrable violation of the secrecy of justice.
The former prime minister is being held in custody in Évora prison indicted for tax fraud, money laundering and corruption.
Monteiro already is calling for an investigation to see who has leaked what and that “the conclusions should be published to avoid the speculation that affects the honour and dignity of individuals and institutions."
Monteiro’s assertion that someone inside the investigation is leaking material may not be correct as many of the reports on the current Sócrates, Espírito Santo, and Golden Visa cases can be attributed to accurate research, inspired guesswork and a detailed knowledge of the characters involved.
Sócrates’ childhood friend Carlos Silva Santos, who held money for the former PM, kindly sent him a monthly allowance and is the owner of the Parisian apartment that José Sócrates has been living in while studying, was a powerful figure at Grupo Lena.
This company now claims to be suffering due to its professional connection to Santos as he was one of those arrested in Operation Marquês which is looking into tax fraud, corruption, and money laundering in relation to €25 million transferred to Santos on behalf of Sócrates.
In this week's Grupo Lena board meeting the directors were said to have been nervous as the links to the socialist prime minister are strong and legion.
Lena’s corporate headquarters was one of the premises raided on Thursday and Lena's administration let it be known today that it feels like the company is being made a scapegoat, suffering from the excessive emphasis on the link to Carlos Santos Silva.
"The suspicions about the group are hurtful and completely unfounded," said Joaquim Paulo Conceição, the president of the executive committee of Grupo Lena, and said unconvincingly that, "we have nothing to fear."
Conceição and his board have decided to take newspaper Sol to court over accusations that Grupo Lena was involved in bribery and he has pledged to "open up for scrutiny all past contracts awarded by the state."
Sol refers readers to the exponential growth of Grupo Lena when Carlos Santos Silva became the company administrator and that Silva's contacts within the government managed to secure the company many juicy contracts.
Carlos Silva Santos was executive director of Lena Engineering and Construction for between February 2008 and August 2009 and the press is speculating at links between the award of large contracts and Proengel, a leading provider of design and engineering services to Lena Construction, building projects in Venezuela, the Baroque Rodrigues family, and procurement consultant XMI. Proengel is a traditional supplier to Estradas de Portugal and several regional water companies.
This will take a while to unravel but with the prime suspects in jail, a calm and detailed approach is being taken by investigators who must get the facts right before charges are read.
Joaquim Paulo Conceição says that Grupo Lena is a small fish in a big pond and that his company has done nothing wrong, which in itself is suspicious in the murky waters of public contract tendering.
