In February 2013, João Rendeiro, Fezas Vital and Paulo Guichard, former board members of Banco Privado Português (BPP) were charged with fraud over a crooked investment scheme that damaged hundreds of clients the tune of €41 million.
The banking regulator later imposed €11 million in fines, stating that, ‘The Bank of Portugal has completed the sanctions and condemn those responsible for acts committed at BPP.”
Last week the stock market regulator fined BPP €1 million and banned Rendeiro from acting as a director for five years.
On May 6th a Lisbon court demanded the seizure of investments and property owned by Rendeiro to the value of €4.7 million as a ‘safeguard’ after the former president of the BPP, Paulo Guichard and Salvador Fezas Vital failed to deposit between them a surety of nearly €7 million.
According to the District Court in Lisbon, in addition to the legal seizure of João Rendeiro’s house Quinta Patino in Cascais, there are orders over land and two Lisbon apartments that he owns. But there is more...
Valuable artworks appear already to have been farmed out to friends for 'safekeeping' and it now appears that Rendeiro has been hiding huge amounts in a raft of overseas accounts set up using his wife’s name to disguise the fact that the money is his.
Switzerland, Singapore and Dubai have been acting as hosts to millions in offshore company bank accounts, money which will come in handy when Rendiero and his mates have to compensate the investors who are €41 million out of pocket due to malpractice at BPP.
The Swiss authorities have been most helpful and have sent to Portugal’s prosecutors details of bank transfers which show that between 2009 and 2013 Rendeiro transferred more than €6 million into offshore company bank accounts in using his wife as cover.
The prosecution now has proof that Rendeiro "holds vast financial assets abroad" the origin of which he has been trying to hide and that "the opening of company accounts by Maria de Jesus da Silva de Matos Ribeiro” and the transfer of millions of euros into them was suspicious as Mrs Rendeiro has no declared source of income.
This is the calibre of banker that the Bank of Portugal was happy to rub along with until, "after verifying the impossibility of recapitalisation and recovery efforts of this institution" it ordered the liquidation of Banco Privado Português.
History:
Banco Privado Português (BPP) was a private Portuguese bank, based in Lisbon. Founded by João Rendeiro it's currently in liquidation.
On 24 July 2009, Paulo Guichard and Salvador Fezas Vital, two former board committee members of BPP were suspended by Banco de Portugal, and joined João Rendeiro in the BPP case, to be indicted for falsifying accounts, tax crimes and money laundering.
On 15 April 2010, the Banco de Portugal, Portugal central bank, "after verifying the impossibility of recapitalisation and recovery efforts of this institution", ordered the liquidation of the Banco Privado Português.
On 11 October 2010, the Polícia Judiciária conducted searches at the homes of former officials of the BPP under the scope of an investigation into suspected money laundering and fraud.
On 11 February 2013, João Rendeiro, Fezas Vital and Paul Guichard, former members of the board, were charged by the Public Ministry with fraud, in a matter of a Collective investment scheme that damaged hundreds of clients for an estimated 41 million euros.
June 2014, all three men in court on charges of joint conspiracy to defraud. Public Prosecutor calls for 5 year jail terms for all.
