"The Santa Casa no longer had the money to assume more financial responsibilities in Brazil, running the risk of not being able to pay salaries and putting its cause at risk", said Ana Jorge, who was being heard, during the morning, by the deputies of the Commission of Labour, Social Security and Inclusion, on the financial situation of the institution and the process of internationalisation of social games.

On the other hand, she stated that already in May 2023, in the days following the inauguration, an "exhaustive survey" was initiated, after which the Board encountered difficulties in obtaining documents, "a situation that continues to this day".

"Both regarding the entire internationalisation project in Brazil, and also regarding other geographical areas to which this project extended", she said.

Ana Jorge pointed out that, as the survey was being carried out, it became clearer how difficult it would be for Santa Casa Global Brasil and Santa Casa Global Portugal "to make a profit or recover some of the investments made".

"In addition, the management of Santa Casa Global, the creation of this network of companies and their respective management were being revealed to be quite opaque and with little foundation, with doubts about the regularity of many of the costs incurred", she said, pointing out that these were the reasons why SCML had refused to transfer another 9 million euros to the project when Ana Jorge took office.

She also denounced the impact of the expenses with the two administrators in the last three years -- Francisco Pessoa e Costa and Ricardo Gonçalves -- which "total 850,000 euros", including "salaries, allowances, attendance fees, personal expenses, among others, namely the payment of the nursery for the daughter".

"The dilemma I was faced with was simple, but with enormous consequences: either the millionaire financing payments of Santa Casa Global were maintained in what was expected to be a bottomless pit, compromising Santa Casa itself in the short, medium and long term, or it was assumed that there would be no more transfers", she said.

She said she was convinced that she had made the best decision for the institution, adding, however, that "it is false" the idea that SCML abandoned the companies in Brazil and failed to fulfil its obligations, also denying that the decision not to continue with the internationalisation project had increased the institution's expenses.

Questioned about what powers she retains due to the fact that she is in current management functions, the dismissed provider said that she can only manage ongoing processes and warned that the delay in appointing a new administration for SCML "could put the budget for 2024 at risk".

Read Also: "Indignant", Ana Jorge regrets "ignorance" about Santa Casa (Portuguese version)