The trial in the EDP case, in which former BES chairman Ricardo Salgado, former Economy Minister Manuel Pinho and his wife Alexandra Pinho are defendants, is scheduled to begin today, but may be postponed.
The possible postponement is the result of a request from Manuel Pinho’s defense, which claims it was not notified in due time.
The start of the trial could also be jeopardized by a strike by the Judicial Employees’ Union (SFJ), which has also scheduled a demonstration on the Justice Campus for today.
If there is no postponement, the trial will begin with the hearing of the defendants, which will last all day, with October 6 still reserved for the same purpose.
The former Economy Minister (between 2005 and 2009), under house arrest since December 2021, is accused of a crime of passive corruption for an illegal act, another of passive corruption, a crime of money laundering and a crime of tax fraud. His wife, Alexandra Pinho, will be tried for a crime of money laundering and another of tax fraud, in material co-authorship with her husband, and Ricardo Salgado will be tried for a crime of active corruption for an unlawful act, a crime of active corruption and another of money laundering.
On September 28, Ricardo Salgado underwent a neurological examination at the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (INMLCF) in Coimbra, which was requested by the former BES chairman’s lawyers in several cases over the last two years, to assess the impact on the trial of the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease that was attributed to him, but only has expert value in the EDP case.
Initially linked to the management of the electricity company and alleged favors, the investigation into the EDP case began in 2012 due to suspicions of corruption and economic participation in business by former directors António Mexia and Manso Neto for the maintenance of the excessive rents contract, in which, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, they corrupted former minister Manuel Pinho.
However, the Public Prosecutor’s Office ended up separating the cases in December 2022, focusing for the time being on suspicions of corruption and money laundering from the Espírito Santo Group (GES) in relation to Manuel Pinho, Alexandra Pinho and Ricardo Salgado.