How many seasons would it take to tell the story and bring justice to the BES case?
Thirty-five years after the conviction of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who carried out one of the most famous homicides of the late 20th century, Netflix rekindled the story of these brothers with the series “Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez”. Not letting the flame go out, the platform streaming He also invested in the documentary version, having won first place in the world top, reaching the top in more than 50 countries. Between angles, deep reflections, the mix reality and fiction, it is certain that the impact was much greater than mere entertainment content: almost four decades later, the analysis of reopening the case of the two brothers who killed their parents in a mansion in, until then, is on the table. quiet Beverly Hills.
In addition to reflecting on the impact that these contents can have on the course of history (at least legal), it is almost inevitable that, in the midst of the beginning of the trial of one of the biggest economic-financial crimes in Portugal, it will not be transposed to the nationwide what a series or documentary could do for the BES/GES case and, above all, for its victims and injured parties.
But here, perhaps the biggest challenge, would be its extension as we are not talking about two defendants. We are talking about 16. Yes, because anyone who thinks that this mega-process should only concern Ricardo Salgado is mistaken: there are 16 people who became defendants, not counting the dozens and hundreds of account managers who enticed customers with banking products made up of BES – some of these are not even authorized in Portugal.
The 1994 victims of the country’s biggest economic-financial crime deposited their trust selfless in its points of contact and portfolio managers, many of them without the capacity – academic and technical – to make an informed choice. Just trustedbecause they trust the rule of law in the country, the supervisors – they trust that we are a European country.
Now, they are placing their last hope in the trial that starts this Tuesday. The life savings of unqualified investors total around 240 million euros and, in the criminal proceedings, this group of victims claims for 330 million, a value that includes damages, not only property, but also moral. Not least, over these 10 years, more than 100 people have died, many others suffer in silence, with physical and mental illnesses that have arisen and without resources for adequate treatment, with two and three generational lines waiting and fighting for justice .
This unprecedented case (Alves dos Reis?) cannot live behind a single face, nor should the banks be seen as enemies. The BES/GES case deals, above all, with the people involved, from Ricardo Salgado, to all the accused. These are all the faces of this crime and the bank must actively combat it through strong mechanisms to prevent, at all costs, the situation from recurring.
Another angle of this sad story is the negligent, incompetent and blatant inaction behavior of the institution that should protect citizens – the Bank of Portugal, which is (or should be) the financial regulator and protector of the State. And today, it seems more than evident to us that Banco de Portugal “knew everything” in advance.
Recognized as one of the largest national industrialists, Pedro Queiroz Pereira personally delivered to the institution that should be the financial guardian of the common citizen, a set of documentation that he himself investigated and compiled. Even so, the Bank of Portugal/Portuguese State was unable to act in a timely and competent manner.
Does it seem like fiction? No: Unfortunately it is reality and it could be a documentary, especially because all these facts are public. Others still aren’t. To this day, the Costa Pinto Report remains closed in Casa-Forte, which the Bank of Portugal never authorized its publication. Just like Ricardo Salgado, the governor at the time, Carlos Costa, is also a face to remember. The testimony of businessman Pedro Queirós Pereira is public, revealing that he handed over “everything” to the Bank of Portugal, in the care of Dr. Pedro Duarte Neves.
10 years later, we can read the lines and between the lines of the frank interview given by the president of the CMVM, Dr. Carlos Tavares, where everything becomes clearer about the clumsy and incomprehensible actions of Banco de Portugal in those years. So incomprehensible with the statements made by the President of the Republic and Prime Minister at the time, about the confidence and good financial health of BES. Widely publicized, citizens – legitimately – believed and deduced that there would be no need to take money from their life savings, when the nation’s top managers assured that everything was fine. Some even went to buy shares on those days.
What is certain is that 15 days later, on August 4, the bank was intervened with an experimental decree-law over the knee, dividing the bank into “good” and “bad”, as from a movie. cowboys if it were treated. This bizarre attempt by the BdP/State to try to fight with missiles a fire that had been going on for a long time generated legal imbroglios in 247 cases in Portuguese courts and 39 in foreign courts, not counting the mega insolvency processes of ESI and Rio Forte, which still exist today take place in Europe’s financial square – Luxembourg.
There is no doubt that the State, in its political aspect, also failed here, but the script for a successful series does not fail, so abysmal is this story.
It is true that the previous government took into account the circumstances of the so-called “commercial paper victims” and devised a solution that allowed them to recover part of their savings.
It is incomprehensible why the same previous government, for years – and the current one neither – still did not have a firm word towards the same type of injured parties, individual people, not qualified, analyzed and certified by the AO, in which they were sold fraudulently use the same products in the same national territory. Equity must be restored as soon as possible!
In this plot, the lawyer of the Brazilian State, the Public Ministry, took 10 years – ten! – to investigate, produce charges, and for the trial now scheduled (after two postponements) to begin on October 15th. In the high bill that is paid, there is a bill that falls: crimes that prescribe and the number of defendants. Now there are only 19, including 16 individuals and 3 legal entities, but the “mother of all this” company, Espírito Santo Internacional, is not included.
In other parts of our planet, towards the USA, in the Madoff case for example (among many), the American MP promoted with the court that the assets seized from the defendants were firstly to reimburse the victims, even before the conclusion of the trial and respective sentence. We are not asking for that much, we are not Americans, but we legitimately demand that the 1.8 billion euros of seized assets be used to reimburse the victims.
The outcome of this trial, which promises to be long and complex, will be decisive for Portugal in the fight against corruption, tax fraud, money laundering and another list of crimes and illicit practices that mark this case. The worst scenario that could happen to the country is for this trial to send a message that economic and financial crimes in Portugal circumvent justice. If it dribbles… let there be a series or documentary to move consciences. We hope it won’t be 35 years later!
