In the BPN/Homeland fraud case, Pedro Lima’s lawyer has sought his client’ acquittal in the case and is highly critical that charges were brought in the first place.
Duarte Lima’s son, Pedro, is accused alongside his father and others in the Homeland case which relates to the acquisition of land in Oeiras with money withdrawn from BPN.
Pedro Lima’s lawyer today called for his acquittal, claiming "he had nothing to do" with the business.
"What Pedro did was only at the request of his father and without, at any time wanting to cheat anyone," said Rogério Alves during closing arguments in the trial of the Homeland case taking place in the Criminal Courts in Lisbon.
Rogerio Alves considered it "very serious" that Pedro Lima, a young man who was little more than 20-years-old at the time of the events, has been accused by state prosecutors when, after all, he was "totally unaware" of the content of the transaction.
Yesterday, Duarte Lima’s lawyer denied the existence of fraud involving his client and BPN over Homeland and considered that the charges were "unfounded” - Lima faces a 5-year jail term if found guilty.
Lawyer, Raul Soares da Veiga, said it "makes no sense" that Duarte Lima, the former leader of the parliamentary group of the PSD, his partner Vitor Raposo, and his son Pedro Lima, all accused of serious fraud and money laundering, had made a plan somehow to defraud BPN for over €40 million on the purchase of land in Oeiras business.
The prosecution alleges that Duarte Lima and his co-conspiritors accessed funds from the bank to buy nearly 48 hectares in Oeiras that they knew would later be used for the construction of the Portuguese institute of Oncology.
Interpol
The Attorney General's Office in Portugal received a request from Brazil for assistance in investigating the murder of Rosalina Ribeiro, Lima's former client.
Ribeiro was killed with two shots in December 2009 after allegedly refusing to sign a document diverting millions to Lima from deceased millionaire Lúcio Thomé Feteira's account.
Lima is on Interopol's Wanted list; is is obvious where Lima is, yet he remains at liberty.
Why the Brazilian authorities have not insisted on Lima's deportation to face murder charges remains a mystery and the fact that there is no extradition treaty between Brazil and Portugal itself if of enduring suspicon.
'Wanted by the judicial authorities of Brazil for prosecution / to serve a sentence'
| Present family name: | LIMA |
| Forename: | DOMINGOS DUARTE |
| Sex: | Male |
| Date of birth: | 20/11/1955 (59 years old) |
| Place of birth: | Portugal |
| Language spoken: | Portuguese |
| Nationality: | Portugal |
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