Liquidators of the bankrupt bank, Banco Espírito Santo, are to chase former directors for €14 million due to ‘irregularities’ committed prior to the bank’s rescue by taxpayers.
The liquidation commission also is demanding money from Goldman Sachs, which advanced an €835 million loan when it was clear that BES was insolvent and close to collapse. Goldman Sachs picked up €50 million in interest and €54 million in commission for arranging the loan.
BES's liquidation commission already has notified 15 former bank administrators that it wants €14 million for distribution to creditors and €90 million related to interest and commissions of the loan granted by Goldman Sachs International to BES in 2014.
The liquidation commission concluded that the former directors had, "carried out acts of dissipation or concealment of their assets" as well as acts that “diminished, frustrated, hampered and / or delayed BES creditors.”
The €14 million is just a start as Ricardo Salgado, for example, has not yet been notified, so the total will increase.
The former directors all have challenged the liquidator’s claim.
Among them are Amílcar Morais Pires, José Maria Ricciardi, Joaquim Goes, António Souto, João Freixa, Jorge Martins, José Manuel Espírito Santo, Pedro Mosqueira do Amaral, Ricardo Abecassis, Rui Silveira, João Faria Rodrigues and Stanislas Ribes.
Those still to be named are Ricardo Salgado, Manuel Fernando Espírito Santo Silva and Pedro Matos Silva.
The liquidation commission claims that these directors were responsible for the bank's collapse and an overall loss of €5.9 billion.
The defence presented by Goldman Sachs at the Lisbon Commercial Court, where the BES liquidation is taking place, the payment of interest and commissions is normal practice in international finance and linked to the remuneration associated with a loan of that magnitude.
