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Bank of Portugal 'asleep' as BIC flouts the law in Alisuper loans scandal

alisuperWorkers from the former Alicoop supermarket group, formerly based in Silves, are appealing against the seizure of their goods and property, filed by BIC bank and are to protest at the bank's headquarters in Lisbon.

Ten years ago this month, 245 employees of the Alicoop Group, which comprised the Alisuper, Macral and Geneco brands, borrowed €1.7 million from BPN jointly with the Alicoop management to keep the company going.

The loan ended up with BIC when it bought BPN and now wants the money repaid by the workers, even though Silves court exempted the workers’ loans from the company's insolvency proceedings in 2012.

The loans, with the agreement of BPN, were taken over by the Nogueira Group, which bought the Alicoop Group.

BIC bank and the new company formed by the Nogueira Group, signed an "agreement to fulfill the benefits approved in the insolvency plan, in order to comply with the judicial sentence,” which was all well and good until the new owner filed for insolvency on February 29, 2016 in Viseu.

BIC bank went to the Nogueira insolvency proceedings to lodge its claim but now is demanding that the original workers have their houses, cars, salaries and furniture removed and auctioned off, so the bank can recoup its money.

The union representing the workers accuses the Bank of Portugal, which is meant to stop banks abusing the law, of “sleeping peacefully, while banks carry on with all sorts of abuse, as is the case here."

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Comments  

-4 #5 AL 2019-02-08 10:49
Quoting Isla White:
This is so indicative of the patriarchal nature still prevalent in so much of Portugal's judicial proceedings.
Complete nonsense as this sort thing happens in every country. Banks have always tried to act above the law, not just in Portugal. There are thousands of cases of banks trying to repossess people's houses using fraudulent documents and judicial courts are only too willing to facilitate this fraud.
+1 #4 Connor 2019-02-08 09:46
After reading the numerous banking articles currently on ADN, I think Isla makes valid points. The judicial system here still functions as it did prior to 1974, only now the internet is able to shed more light on what goes on, unfortunately exposing the corruption doesn't seem to change the outcomes.
+5 #3 ClaireT 2019-02-08 09:00
Quoting Darcy:
Here we go again Isla or what ever other names you go under regarding your bitter snipping at Portugal and Portugese people, please give it a rest as we are all sick of it.

You may be but its a bit presumptious to assume we all are, I think she makes good points such as the termination of the loan agreement that the bank is flouting... and that awful judge...
-5 #2 Darcy 2019-02-08 08:45
Here we go again Isla or what ever other names you go under regarding your bitter snipping at Portugal and Portugese people, please give it a rest as we are all sick of it.
+3 #1 Isla White 2019-02-08 08:11
This is so indicative of the patriarchal nature still prevalent in so much of Portugal's judicial proceedings. Highlighted recently with the judge of the spiked club assault just being 'ticked off'... far short of being spiked clubbed himself which will have impressed us all more. A fundamental component of any developed country business contract is that it has 'sunset clauses' .... which specify when the contract will be wound up and under what terms. In 2012 with the new Nogueira Group arrangement the loans of the employees should have been finally and irrevocably terminated. Yet that clearly did not happen!

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