"There is no fact, no evidence that can convict Ricardo Salgado of the crimes he is accused of. Being in this trial was a walk in the park for me", said lawyer Francisco Proença de Carvalho, in the final arguments made at the Lisbon Central Criminal Court, in view of the charges of active corruption and money laundering.

The attorney for the former president of the Espírito Santo Group (GES) therefore reiterated that the court "must acquit Ricardo Salgado", also arguing that, in the event of a possible conviction, the court should suspend the application of the sentence due to the clinical issue.

For the lawyer, the trial showed that Salgado was not the 'Owner of It All' at GES, by evoking the testimonies of former administrators: "They all said here that there were discussions in the board of directors. If Ricardo Salgado had his way, then he had his way with immense fragility. Let's give up this representation as the chief responsible".

Considering that there is "no evidence" of corruption by Ricardo Salgado, Francisco Proença de Carvalho stressed that "corruption must fall apart" and described the accusation of the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) as "ridiculous".

"I had never seen written corruption. (...) Corruption is an invention", he said, referring to the agreement signed between his client and Manuel Pinho in 2004, when the former minister ceased his executive functions in the group and which the MP pointed out as the genesis of the alleged corrupt pact.

"In this process we defend a kind of evolutionary theory of corruption. We started with the CMEC (Contractual Balance Maintenance Costs), as that was being deconstructed, we moved on to this... The greatest proof of the fragility of this accusation is its evolution. It is deconstructed over time. It is with this rigour that the MP honours us and intends to condemn an Alzheimer's patient to a prison sentence", he said.

Francisco Proença de Carvalho reiterated that Salgado "never asked Manuel Pinho for any favour" and also criticised the charge of money laundering against the former president of GES.

Regarding the diagnosis of Alzheimer's attributed to his client, the lawyer pointed out the "two years" he spent asking for neurological examinations to be carried out and stressed that he had "much honour in the 10-year journey alongside Ricardo Salgado".

"The Ricardo Salgado who was involved in the practice of the facts no longer exists. That is one of the characteristics of Alzheimer's. I met him in July 2014 before the collapse of BES. I know the man I met", he observed, regretting the existence of an apparent prejudice against the former banker: "There is only one 'but' in this Alzheimer's because the person is called Ricardo Salgado".

In the MP's arguments made on Monday, prosecutor Rui Batista defended the application of a sentence of between six and seven years in prison for the former banker, referring the court to an assessment of the issue of Alzheimer's disease.

Manuel Pinho, under house arrest since December 2021, is being tried in the EDP case for passive corruption for illicit act, passive corruption, money laundering and tax fraud.

His wife, Alexandra Pinho, is being tried for money laundering and tax fraud - in material co-authorship with her husband -, while the former president of BES, Ricardo Salgado, is being tried for active corruption for illicit act, active corruption and money laundering.

Read Also: Manuel Pinho's defence demands acquittal in the EDP case. "I hope for justice" (Portuguese version)