Ex-BPP director returns to Portugal

One of the former directors of failed private bank BPP who is facing a court hearing linked to serious economic and financial crimes is returning to Portugal this week from Brazil.

Paulo Guichard said he was returning to attend a court hearing at Lisbon Criminal Court and will not oppose the handing over of his passport. It is not clear if the ex-director, who now faces nine years and six months in prison, has a Brazilian or other passport belonging to a jurisdiction which does not have an extradition treaty with Portugal.
“The immediate return of the defendant to Portugal – where his family (mother, children, sister and nephews) live and the debt of gratitude he has for his family’s support, displays the conditions to maintain an integrated and socially responsible life, without committing crimes, and is a proven proof that he does not intend to absence himself from national justice”, states Guichard’s lawyer.
Ex-directors Paulo Guichard, Salvador Fezes Vital and Fernando Lima were sentenced on 14 May to immediate prison sentences and are subject to Terms of Identity and Residence with the Public Ministry altering the bail terms to prohibit the accused to be out of the country and demanding that they surrender their respective passports.
Salvador Fezes Vital and Fernando Lima are not on Portuguese territory and therefore are considered to be ‘on the run’, while João Rendeiro is also overseas and has not informed the authorities of his whereabouts.
Meanwhile, his disappearance and apparent flight from justice was criticised by Paulo Guichard as an “act of cowardice”.
“Running away is always an act of cowardice. Facing things is an act of dignity, a civic act that leads by example to others,” he said.