“I have to tell you that it is very stupid to think (…) that they thought they were God on earth and that they ruled the country. THE Ricardo Salgado, Rui Silveira, I don’t know what, they thought they ruled the country, that they own the world. Ricardo Salgado even threatened the Governor of the Bank of Portugal, saying: ‘I’ve been there for many years and governors change.’ Just like it says: ‘Maybe I need to talk to someone to get you out’. Arrogance without measure (…)”
Then Pedro Queiroz Pereira takes a step forward. And it goes all the way to the top of the family: the High Council of Espírito Santo.
“That date of 13 December 2012 relates to a session of the High Council. They invited me and I went to that meeting to draw their attention to what was happening and say: ‘Wouldn’t it be better for us to sit down, create a working group, if we understand each other, than be here attacking each other? other’. Because they already wanted to buy shares in my Group to control it.”
When PQP went to the High Council meeting, the other members of the Espírito Santo family urged Ricardo Salgado “to go with Pedro because that can’t be the case either, you have to understand each other, you have to you find some. kind of understanding”, says PQP.
How are the remaining processes in the case of Universo Espírito Santo?
“And he would leave the room and it was like nothing had happened. I wasn’t there to play police. I was in this because, even without money, I was attracting my partners to control my Group”, explains Pedro Queiroz Pereira to the promoters José Ranito and Claudia Ribeiro.
And did PQP already know, on 13 December 2012, that SIE’s accounts had been falsified? The investigators he hired, including auditors, accountants and economists, had already found the holes in the companies’ accounts. possessions of the Holy Spirit? Queiroz Pereira says that he did not know that the accounts were falsified in terms of liability, but that he suspected something else.
“I knew their accounts were bad because they consolidated the accounts from one holding company to another and didn’t use the quotes, they used the values they imagined. So the bills were a complete scam.”
The confrontation continues six months later, in June 2023, during two general assemblies (GA) of ES Control — six months in which the PQP team of researchers gathers more information about possessions of the Holy Spirit.
The first GA at ES Control took place on 6 June 2013 and then, says Queiroz Pereira, “the numbers didn’t add up”. The meeting was adjourned until eight days later and the minutes of the meeting show that “all actions taken since 2007 were confirmed, and accounts, capital increases, change of registered office and other matters were approved. and PQP always voted against it”, reads the inquiry report.
The meeting continues on 24 June 2013 and, two days later, Pedro Queiroz Pereira submits a request for a judicial investigation of ES Control’s accounts in Luxembourg. In the same action, he informs the Luxembourg authorities that ESI’s debt is over 3 billion euros.
“It’s relatively simple [fundamentar essa alegação do endividamento de 3 mil milhões]because I had the balance sheets, I saw how the accounts were made, that is the consolidations… For example, Rio Forte’s account was at 1 billion and 300 million euros. But it wasn’t worth it, you know? That was cheating the accounts and why did they put it in? That’s how they put it. Espírito Santo Financial Group [a subholding que detinha a posição de controle do BES e na qual também estava o Crédit Agricole], this is important data, it was in the bag [portuguesa] at 5.24 euros and was recorded at 22 euros in the consolidation of the accounts. I did the math and said: ‘This is a 3 billion euro hole.’