Banco Espírito Santo (BES) is being investigated in New York on suspicion of its branch in Miami having been used for money laundering via a Venezuelan businessman, according to Monday’s Wall Street Journal.
The Aman Bank in Libya, owned 40% by BES, also is accused of helping Muammar Gaddafi and his inner circle to get money out of the country in early 2011, before the rebellion ended the dictator’s regime in October that year.
The inquiry is being carried carried out by prosecutors in New York and a federal grand jury.
The US news service also reports that last Thursday the Portuguese prosecutor organised several searches including at the headquarters of Novo Banco and BES and at several private homes and offices of Espírito Santo family members and senior staff of the bank, including Ricardo Salgado, former president of BES.
The Attorney General's Office said that the raids were related to "suspected serious fraud offenses, breach of trust, document forgery, money laundering and tax evasion."
December 9th is the new big day for Ricardo Salgado when he will be grilled by members of the parliamentary committee set up to look at the collapse of BES.
Salgado’s cousin and recent arch rival Jose Maria Ricciardi, who chairs BES Investimento, also will answer to the committee on the same day.
The hearings of the cousins were scheduled for this week but have been postponed because Portuguese Communist Party committee members wanted to hear from two key BES employees before questioning the top brass.
On December 11th, the former financial director of BES, Amilcar Morais Pires, will be questioned by the committee.
Tomorrow, December 2nd, it is the turn of Vítor Bento, the banker who briefly took over from Ricardo Salgado when BES was split into two but was ‘let go’ when his opposition to a quick sale of Novo Banco became too embarrassing for the government and the Bank of Portugal.
Also on the list for tomorrow is Sikander Sattar the chairman of KPMG which audited the BES accounts and who will be asked to contribute to the inquiry.
The Wall Street Journal reports also that Banco Espírito Santo plans to close its Hong Kong operation with the loss of a dozen jobs, thus severing a main tie to the Asian market. This marks the end of a short chapter for BES in Hong Kong, where it set up in 2010.
