PM slams Berardo over rudeness and Caixa Geral debt

Prime Minister António Costa said on Monday that Portugal was "surely shocked by the rudeness" of Joe Berardo, (pictured) when he was heard in Parliament and said he expected the businessman to pay "what he owes" to Caixa Geral de Depósitos.

"I think the country is certainly all shocked by the rudeness with which Mr Joe Berardo responded last week in this Parliament," António Costa said in the biweekly debate.

In response to the Left Bloc leader, Catarina Martins, the Prime Minister stressed that "the current management of Caixa Geral, appointed by this Government, triggered Joe Berardo to pay Caixa what he owes Caixa."

According to Catarina Martins, the bank was "completely irresponsible" in lending Berardo huge sums in what have been proved to be unsecured loans.

The Madeiran businessman, who owes Caixa Geral, BCP and Novo Banco around a billion euros, was heard in parliament last Friday, where he said it is "clear" that he personally has no debts, and confirmed that the guarantee that banks have is from the Berardo Collection Association, and had no charge over his valuable art collection which the banks thought has been pleadged as collateral.

Joe Berardo clarified that the guarantee given to CGD is owed money by the Berardo Collection Association, and has no claim to his art collection.

Comments  

0 #9 nogin the nog 2019-05-18 22:27

Quoting Peter Booker:

If Berardo is right, and he should know what is in the fine print, then it is the bankers (if that is the right term) who were running these banks who have allowed themselves (or rather the country) to be swindled.

It seems that Berardo has pulled off a really big scam, and that the legal system cannot touch him.

It is the managements of these banks which should be in the dock.

HHM Peter.
The Bankers are just the instruments in play. The Law makers are not doing a thing to prevent such scams.
It is a state of play that will never be resolved. ..

-1 #8 nogin the nog 2019-05-17 17:45

Quoting Hamilton:

Interesting to note Mr B anglicises his name to Joe to impress those north of the Pyrenees. As a Ze B he sounded like someone's Alentejo goat herd. As a Jose it is possible he at least owns the goats, maybe a horse or two too. But - as a Portuguese Joe - owning an art collection in his own name was clearly pushing it.

Hamilton you need to keep taking the meds..
But in all seriousness , nothing is going to change here. Just soak up the sun and drink
some good wine..

0 #7 Darcy 2019-05-16 09:04

Just wondering how the loans are unsecured as Mr Berardo has a personal fortune of €580 million, one would think that if the loans are not repayed on schedule that the Tax Authority will remove his assets.

-5 #6 Hamilton 2019-05-15 06:38

Interesting to note Mr B anglicises his name to Joe to impress those north of the Pyrenees. As a Ze B he sounded like someone's Alentejo goat herd. As a Jose it is possible he at least owns the goats, maybe a horse or two too. But - as a Portuguese Joe - owning an art collection in his own name was clearly pushing it.

+4 #5 Darren 2019-05-14 19:16

It is odd to hear both the President and PM calling on Berardo to behave responsibly as befits such an important personage. A chap who has 2 of the most important honours Portugal can bestow for drawing the world's attention to Portugal's 'culture'. This what makes him bomb proof - as with the Freeport investigation that had no intention at all of punishing a sitting PM Socrates. Just having the evidence against Socrates gathered in and destroyed as 'inadmissable'! It still does not add up how Berardo can pledge an asset that he now claims he had no control over or connection to. Which is fraud anywhere else in the EU.

+2 #4 Hamilton 2019-05-14 13:45

This kind of nonsense just could not happen in the more evolved EU. Good bank management should have been established by the time Portugal joined but then, as we all know, like so much else including policing and the judiciary; it wasn't. Even now no one can say it is 'clean'.
As we all know - Bank managers are tied to levels up to which they can sanction loans. So whoever was arranging Berardo's loans was in the top tier and must be held personally responsible along with any subordinates that were not double checking the pledged assets value. In addition there is a principle here - common fraud. Not even Arthur Daley's (Minder) script writers could have got away with him pledging the same ' virtual / imaginary' asset to 3 different banks.

+6 #3 Mutley 2019-05-14 10:35

He might have had some help from the banks managers. Portuguese tradition wants you to use the good old cronies network. Whether they were in on it or not, bank managers are to blame,

+7 #2 Peter Booker 2019-05-14 08:20

If Berardo is right, and he should know what is in the fine print, then it is the bankers (if that is the right term) who were running these banks who have allowed themselves (or rather the country) to be swindled.

It seems that Berardo has pulled off a really big scam, and that the legal system cannot touch him.

It is the managements of these banks which should be in the dock.

+3 #1 Mutley 2019-05-13 23:44

Costa is just jealous.

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