The civil contractor José Guilherme, a key figure in the revelation of the BES case, died last night, according to the Jornal Económico, after in 2012 the transfers he made to a Ricardo Salgado account in Switzerland, amounting to 14 million euros, were discovered.
The businessman from Amadora, known for his connection to Benfica, had recently filed a lawsuit against the BES Resolution Fund, recalling that when he was heard by the Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP), the former president of BES justified such transfers as “a gift” from his “friend” in exchange for advice Ricardo Salgado had given him to invest in real estate in Angola instead of Eastern Europe, as that newspaper recalls.
The contractor built the Torres Oceano project in Luanda, after constructing the Dolce Vita condominium in the Talatona neighborhood, in the southern part of the city. He was also responsible for the Clássicos de Talatona complex, where some ministries of the Angolan state are based.
In 2022, when Novo Banco refused to renegotiate the restructuring agreement of his debt of 94 million euros, the Portuguese civil contractor took the bank to court. When, in 2014, BES was subject to a resolution measure by the Bank of Portugal, the businessman’s debt amounted to around 121 million euros.
Aside from this episode, José Guilherme was also identified as one of the largest debtors of BES. According to the information he provided in 2015 to the inquiry commission on the management of BES and GES, his debt in August 2014, before the bank’s resolution, was about 121 million euros.
Benfica released a note of condolence on its website, highlighting the “profound Benfica spirit” of the businessman and considering him “a decisive figure in the construction of the new Estádio da Luz.”
“The news of his passing leaves Sport Lisboa e Benfica eternally grateful for his various and exemplary acts of Benfica spirit,” reads the statement, which also highlighted his role in the financial recovery of the club, in which he owned around four percent of the shares of the red SAD.