The Court of Appeal of Lisbon (TRL) has rejected an appeal by those found guilty in the BCP Millennnium case.
Jardim Gonçalves, Filipe Pinhal and Antonio had appealed against their convictions, sentences and fines to judges in the criminal court of Lisbon.
The founder of Banco Comercial Português (BCP), Jardim Gonçalves, was sentenced earlier this month to a penalty of two years in prison, which is suspended upon payment of €600,000.
The sentences for the remaining defendants, all former managers of the bank, were upheld with Filipe Pinhal and Antonio Rodrigues sentenced to prison terms of two years and a fine of €300,000 each, Christopher de Beck was acquitted of all charegs.
The court also ordered that the guilty men are banned from running a company or even holding management positions, for four years.
Banco Comercial Português, operating in the high street as Millennium BCP, was founded in 1985 by Jardim Gonçalves and some of his friends in the Oporto financial community.
In 2008 the bank reported a profit of €200 million but by 2012 the bank was in deep trouble and was rescued in a highly controversial €3 billion state bailout as the money was taken from Portugal’s bailout fund arranged by the Troika.
Even before this rescue, the bank courted controversy as in 2007 the Millennium BCP accounts were investigated by Portuguese financial crime investigators, Bank of Portugal officials, and the stock market authorities.
The preliminary findings of the stock market team alleged the existence of several off-shore companies which Millennium BCP 'may have used to buy its own shares' when it increased its capital in both 2000 and 2001.
One of the shareholders, José Berardo, provided investigators with documents pointing to several illegalities and the finger was pointed at previous board directors and managers.
Berardo was in the news in 2008 as it was he that sold the Quinta da Rocha estate in Alvor, for €15 million to eco-vandal Aprígio Santos; he had paid just €500,000 for the site.
Berardo will be celebrating tonight as years later he has been shown to be right all along about criminal behaviour at BCP.
