BESA boss accused of pocketing €6Bn
The former president of Banco Espírito Santo Angola (BESA), Álvaro Sobrinho, has been accused of syphoning off €6Bn from the bank.
Álvaro Sobrinho has, according to CNN Portugal, been accused of channelling hundreds of millions from the bank to accounts in Switzerland controlled by him.
The accusations include aggravated embezzlement, breach of trust, and capital laundering in a scheme using fall guys and illegal loans between 2009 and 2013 worth a total of €6Bn.
In March, Judge Carlos Alexandre of Portugal’s criminal justice department set a €6 million bail and seizure order on Sobrinho’s passport.
If he fails to provide the bail, one of the highest ever awarded in Portugal, he may not leave the country. If he does pay the bail, he can move within EU territory.
In March, the legal defendant or “arguido” delivered a request to provide the bail by submitting mortgages on four properties which he owns.