João Rendeiro hid €30.5 million from taxman

Portugal’s on-the-run ex-banker João Rendeiro hid over €30 million from the Portuguese tax authorities.

The size of the ‘banksters’ tax fraud according to documents included in two enquires into fraud at private bank BPP – for which he was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison in July 2020, and another sentence of 10 years in May 2021 – is estimated by the tax authorities to be €30.5 million between 1998 and 2008.
Of the total amount, around €15.6 million refer to capital income obtained by Rendeiro in 2004, 2006 and 2008. From 8-10 July 2009, Rendeiro presented statements both in paper and electronic formats for all years 1999 to 2008: declaring €13.54 million in income from work and capital gains and paid in taxes and interest €5.1 million.
In an appeal against the payment of €4.9 million in outstanding IRS, Rendeiro alleged that the transfers of funds between offshores such as Telesis and Sertin, from which he was a beneficiary, were loans, not being part of the concept of income or additional patrimony subject to tax. The public ministry disagreed.
Rendeiro lost the appeal and was ordered to pay the taxes still owing. BPP (Banco Privado Português) collapsed in 2008 immediately after the financial crisis the year before.