Ricardo Salgado

The extensive BES/GES criminal trial began with Salgado as a central figure in an indictment covering numerous economic and financial offences.

State of the evidence

indictment and trial documented

Legal status — source text

trial opened in 2024; some charges time-barred or dropped, many others still being tried as at 31 August 2026

Attribution

Salgado is the principal defendant; unadjudicated acts remain allegations

In the Banco Espírito Santo Angola case, Salgado is on trial for, among other offences, five counts of breach of trust and one of aggravated fraud.

State of the evidence

indictment and trial documented

Legal status — source text

trial began in 2025; Court of Appeal ruled in 2026 that it must continue despite Alzheimer's disease

Attribution

defendant status; no final finding of guilt as at 31 August 2026

A separate case accuses Salgado of two counts of aggravated tax fraud involving remuneration through non-resident entities; the alleged loss is approximately €5.5 million.

State of the evidence

indictment and committal decision (pronúncia) documented

Legal status — source text

two offences committed for trial; final outcome not identified

Attribution

defendant status; alleged loss not finally adjudicated

In a separate part of Marquês, Salgado was convicted of three counts of breach of trust involving more than ten million euros.

State of the evidence

conviction and confirmation documented

Legal status — source text

six-year sentence subsequently increased to eight years and upheld; incorporated in 2026 into a combined 13-year sentence, execution suspended on medical grounds

Attribution

personal criminal liability definitively established

Salgado was convicted of bribing former minister Manuel Pinho to favour GES's interests.

State of the evidence

conviction documented

Legal status — source text

six years and three months in 2024; incorporated into the combined 13-year sentence suspended in 2026

Attribution

personal criminal liability established by the trial court

After an initial decision dismissed several charges, the Court of Appeal upheld an appeal by the Public Prosecutor's Office and committed Salgado for trial on additional charges involving, notably, Sócrates and PT.

State of the evidence

committal decision following appeal and trial documented

Legal status — source text

Salgado on trial since 2025 for, notably, three counts of active corruption and eight of money laundering; no final conviction on these charges as at 31 August 2026

Attribution

defendant status; presumption of innocence on these charges

Prosecutors accused Salgado of arranging approximately $1.8 million in payments to a former Banco do Brasil vice-president to obtain or maintain $200 million in financing for BES. The court found the alleged corrupt agreement unproven.

State of the evidence

indictment, trial, acquittal and appeal documented

Legal status — source text

Central Criminal Court acquitted all defendants on 20 July 2026; prosecutors announced an appeal the following day

Attribution

Salgado was accused; favourable first-instance outcome

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

The CMVM sanctioned Salgado for information deemed insufficient or misleading in the prospectus for BES's May 2014 capital increase.

State of the evidence

CMVM sanction and judgment documented

Legal status — source text

TCRS reduced the fine from €1 million to €950,000 and found all facts proven except one Rioforte point

Attribution

personal regulatory liability

The BdP sanctioned Salgado for infringements connected with the marketing of Espírito Santo International debt to BES customers.

State of the evidence

sanction and judgment documented

Legal status — source text

TCRS set the fine at €3.75 million and imposed an eight-year ban from financial positions

Attribution

personal regulatory liability established

PT invested 897 million euros in Rioforte commercial paper, of which 847 million euros was not repaid. Emails and hearings fuelled suspicions that Salgado had intervened to support GES.

State of the evidence

investment, default, emails and parliamentary inquiry documented

Legal status — source text

several proceedings examined the transaction; no separate personal conviction recorded here

Attribution

Salgado's intervention alleged; knowledge of PT/Oi executives disputed

Salgado was arrested in July 2014 as part of Operação Monte Branco, a wide-ranging money laundering investigation.

State of the evidence

arrest and suspect status documented

Legal status — source text

detained and questioned; suspected of money laundering, breach of trust, aggravated fraud, falsification and tax fraud; final outcome of this specific case not verified

Attribution

suspect status; no guilt inferred