The 'Tribunal da Relação de Lisboa' has reduced the sentence handed out to Duarte Lima from ten years to six.
The Court upheld Lima’s conviction for aggravated fraud and money laundering in the Homeland case while reducing his prison sentence.
The reduction of Lima's sentence by the Court prevents Lima being able to appeal to the Supreme Court as it only looks at cases of seven years or more.
The Homeland investigation was concluded and Lima sentenced in November 2014. He appealed and has been under house arrest despite the seriousness of the case.
Besides Lima’s appeal, the Court reduced the sentence of Victor Raposo, Lima’s partner in crime, from six to four years for aggravated fraud.
The court said it had been proved that Duarte Lima transferred €3 million to an account in Switzerland and that both Lima and his co-defendants will still have to pay €17.5 million in compensation to Parvalorem, the state company that ended up administering BPN.
Banco Português de Negócios, from which Lima and his associates managed to borrow €43 million for the Homeland propery fund, had to be nationalised by the Portuguese Government in 2008 after a bad management and malpractice-related debt of €1.8 billion and several ‘irregularities’ finally were uncovered.
Lima and Victor Raposo withdrew €17.8 million from the bank led by Oliveira Costa, to use for their personal benefit and for the benefit of their accomplices.
Lima accused the judges who gave him his original sentence of "deep and egregious factual errors" and also in "errors of law".
Lima blamed the housing crisis and the collapse of BPN on the failure of the Homeland company which has bought land to build a new home for the Portuguese Institute of Oncology.
The money advanced by the bank was €17.8 million over the amount Lima paid for the land. This was the money that was stolen and divvied up.
The Homeland fund also was used to purchase 44 hectares at Moinho Vermelho for €5 million, a sale registered as €20 million without the knowledge of the bank. The difference was transferred offshore for the use those now convicted.
Lima said it is not his fault that the bank went bust.
By 2011, BPN had been stripped of many of its debts and bad loans and was sold on to Angola’s Banco BIC for a token €40 million.
Lima also is wanted in Brazil on suspicion of the murder of Rosalina Ribeiro, the secretary and long-term lover of wealthy Portuguese industrialist Tomás Feteira.
Feteira died in 2000 and in December 2009 Rosalina was murdered in Brazil, near Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro.
According to the Portuguese newspaper i, a complaint against Duarte Lima was filed by Feteira's heirs related to money missing from the legacy of the Portuguese millionaire.
The money mysteriosly had been transferred to Duarte Lima's Swiss account, seemingly by Rosalina Ribeiro.
The daughter of Tomás Feteira, Olímpia Feteira said that in 2001 Duarte Lima had received five transfers totalling more than €5.2 million.
Rosalina Ribeiro lost an action in a Brazilian court, where she had claimed part of the fortune on the grounds that she and the businessman lived as man and wife. However, the court dismissed her claims.
The daughter of the businessman then wanted to know why the father's accounts were being handled by his former secretary and questioned the whereabouts of the money that should have exceeded €30 million.
In December 7, 2009, Duarte Lima, who was Rosalina Ribeiro's lawyer, flew to Rio de Janeiro to have a business meeting with her. In principle they were to handle issues related to Rosalina Ribeiro's assets.
Rosalinda later was found shot dead with two bullets in the chest and one in the head. Duarte Lima stated that he only heard of her death on December 21, 2009, when he was in London preparing to travel to Hong Kong.
On Thursday, 27 October 2011, Duarte Lima formally was accused of the murder of Rosalina Ribeiro by the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Brazilian authorities claim that Ribeiro was murdered after refusing to sign a document diverting millions to Lima from the legacy of millionaire Feteira.
During the first interrogation via questions put in writing to Duarte Lima by the Brazilian authorities, Lima failed to clarify whether or not he had declared the money to Portuguese tax authorities.
The prosecution claims that this money was the reason for Ribeiro’s murder.
It is not yet known how and when Lima will stand trial in Brazil for the murder of Ribeiro. It may be that he will be tried in Portugal for the crime which the Brazilians are of course keen to resolve.
