fbpx
Log in

Login to your account

Username *
Password *
Remember Me

Create an account

Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.
Name *
Username *
Password *
Verify password *
Email *
Verify email *
Captcha *

Banco Privado Português directors trial - 'severe punishment' called for

bppAs the trial of the former directors of the collapsed Banco Privado Português nears its conclusion, prosecution lawyer have asked the courts to throw the book at João Rendeiro, the former president of the bank.

Stating that Rendeiro, Paulo Guichard and Salvador Fezas Vitalis should be "severely punished," the lawyer acting on behalf of the bank, said they should all be locked up.

"Dr. João Rendeiro, Dr. Paulo Guichard and Dr. Salvador Fezas Vital have to be sentenced to prison, there is no alternative, because this court must demonstrate - after Banif and BES - that there has to be a time when we have to say ‘that’s enough,’ said lawyer, Miguel Pereira Coutinho, addressing the court and insisting that the defendants must be severely sanctioned" because cases of banks that collapse due to bent management, "can not be repeated."

Various public statements João Rendeiro has made, reveals that he does not have any regrets for his behaviour at BPP, citing a 2016 interview when Rendeiro said that he continues to "exercise his gifts," through consulting services.

At the court hearing today, the Public Prosecutor asked for a jail term of seven to nine years for João Rendeiro and six to eight years for Paulo Guichard and Salvador Fezas Vital, considering them key players in the scam led by Dr. Rendeiro."

The criminal case concerns computer fraud and falsifying documents between 2001 and 2008 when the Bank of Portugal finally intervened.

BPP was a private bank for high net worth individuals, founded by João Rendeiro. The bank's 'lack of liquidity' led the Bank of Portugal to intervene at the end of 2008.

In July 2009, Paulo Guichard and Salvador Fezas Vital, two former BPP board members were suspended by the Bank of Portugal, and joined João Rendeiro for charges of falsifying accounts, tax crimes and money laundering.

In April 2010, the Bank of Portugal, "after verifying the impossibility of recapitalisation and recovery efforts of this institution," ordered the liquidation of Banco Privado Português.

In October 2010, the Judicial Police conducted searches at the homes of former BPP directors investigating money laundering and fraud.

In February 2013, João Rendeiro, Fezas Vital and Paul Guichard, were charged with fraud in a collective investment scheme in which hundreds of clients lost a total of €41 million.

In May 2015, assets owned by João Rendeiro were seized to pay a €4.7 million fine to the Bank of Portugal.

The final court date for these crooks is January 25th after which, sentencing will be announced.

Pin It

Comments  

+1 #6 Peter Booker 2018-01-22 08:05
Without ever saying so, Ms White implies that whistle blowers in UK are fairly dealt with. The very reverse is unfortunately true. They are hounded by their managements, and often dismissed on the ground that the trust between them and their bosses has been irretrievably damaged. The industrial tribunals are littered with such cases, especially those concerning nurses.
+1 #5 Plain Speaking 2018-01-22 08:04
Isla White. And the British financial system is whiter than white is it! It is the British who have made tax avoidance a massive industry backed up by armies of incredibly paid lawyers and accountants. Who has jurisdiction over the vast majority of offshores, the British? A little less hypocrisy please.
-2 #4 Isla White 2018-01-22 07:37
We British keep getting repeated siren calls about returning to the EU fold. That the EU will reform itself and we British would be welcome back.
But what genuine, not pretend, reform is possible with countries like Portugal ? None of the high profile fraud and corruption cases in Portugal have ever been internally driven. All resulted from foreign jurisdictions agitating. Even now there is no trustworthy mechanism for 'whistle blowing' - a procedure as simple as Complaining about a service or product took years to establish and still generates the offenders repeatedly claiming their honour has been infringed. A website for complaining still defeats the policy makers 10 years or more after being proposed !
These bankers knew they were doing wrong but were equally aware that the Portuguese banking culture, backed up by the judiciary, regulators and police meant that, God willing, they should have had nothing to worry about.
0 #3 Malcolm.H 2018-01-21 16:41
Bit iffy isn't it Ed. talking of prison ? As you rightly said, there will be years of appeals and the standard acceptable excuse is that 'Everyone was doing it - this is Portugal'. Over time, give the amount of corruption embedded in Portugal into everything that moves, would like to move or is thinking hard about moving but has a deal to make first - this fuss will die down.
+1 #2 Ed 2018-01-20 09:58
Quoting Peter Booker:
"The final court date for these crooks is January 25th after which, sentencing will be announced."

It would appear from the rest of your report, Ed, that the court has not yet reached a verdict, without which there can be no sentence. And if by some mischance, the court acquits them, they in a legal sense are not crooks.
Even if acquitted, they are responsible for crookery on a grand scale - this is not in question. The only thing up for discussion should be the length of time each will spend in prison. Then there will be the inevitable appeals process meaning years before the prison door shuts behind them.... It is still worth going through the process though, even if they all remain out and about.
0 #1 Peter Booker 2018-01-20 09:44
"The final court date for these crooks is January 25th after which, sentencing will be announced."

It would appear from the rest of your report, Ed, that the court has not yet reached a verdict, without which there can be no sentence. And if by some mischance, the court acquits them, they in a legal sense are not crooks.

You must be a registered user to make comments.
Please register here to post your comments.