Ricardo Salgado will not serve the 13-year prison sentence imposed on him after a Lisbon criminal court ruled that his advanced Alzheimer's disease makes imprisonment impossible.
The 80-year-old former banking tycoon, once commonly known as the "Dono Disto Tudo" ("owner of it all") for his immense influence over Portugal's financial and political establishment, led Banco Espírito Santo (BES) for more than two decades and was one of the most powerful figures in Portuguese business until the spectacular collapse of the bank in 2014.
The failure of BES triggered one of the biggest financial scandals in modern Portuguese history, wiping out billions of euros in value and leading to a series of criminal investigations into the bank's management and the wider Espírito Santo Group.
The decision was handed down on Tuesday, 2 June, by the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon, which suspended the execution of the former banker's sentence after accepting medical evidence that his condition is incompatible with incarceration.
Judge Ana Paula Rosa delivered the ruling as part of a sentencing consolidation process that combined two separate convictions against Salgado: a six-year and three-month sentence in the EDP corruption case, and an eight-year sentence in the high-profile Operation Marquês investigation.
Although the court fixed a single custodial sentence of 13 years, it concluded that Salgado is no longer fit to serve time in prison. The suspension will remain in force for the duration of the sentence.
In explaining the decision, the judge said it had been established that the former Banco Espírito Santo chairman suffers from a “psychiatric disorder” that developed after the offences for which he was convicted. Particular weight was given to the latest forensic assessment commissioned by the court, which found that Salgado is no longer capable of fully understanding the purpose or meaning of a prison sentence.
According to the expert report, dated 11 May, the former banking executive retains only a “very general” awareness that legal proceedings exist, but is unable to establish a meaningful connection between the offences committed, the punishment imposed, and the enforcement of that punishment.
The report further concluded that Salgado would be incapable of managing daily life independently within a prison environment. Experts warned of an increased risk of functional deterioration, disorientation, falls, and difficulties adhering to medication and basic routines.
The suspension of the sentence was supported by both prosecutors and Salgado's defence team. His lawyers argued that the diagnosed cognitive impairment justified suspending the prison term, despite the fact that Portuguese law would not normally allow such a measure for sentences exceeding five years.
Salgado was convicted in 2024 in the EDP case for the active corruption of former Economy Minister Manuel Pinho between 2005 and 2009, in a scheme designed to benefit the interests of the Espírito Santo Group.
He had previously been convicted in 2022 in the Operation Marquês case for breach of trust after diverting €10.7 million from the Espírito Santo Group in 2011.
The ruling means that whilst the court has formally recognised Salgado's combined sentence of 13 years' imprisonment, the punishment will not be carried out in a prison setting because of his clinical condition.
Source: DN
Photo credit: André Kosters/Lusa
