Lisbon, Oct. 18, 2024 (Lusa) - The former chairman of Banco Espírito Santo Investimento (BESI), José Maria Ricciardi, told the court on Friday that Ricardo Salgado asked him to "show solidarity with his family" and with the "falsification of accounts" in the Espírito Santo Group (GES).

In the continuation of the hearing that began on Thursday at the Lisbon Central Criminal Court, Ricciardi began to answer questions in the BES/GES trial, revealing a dinner he had at the home of his cousin and former chairman of BES in June 2014, where he expressed his surprise at the "exaggerated sympathy" of Ricardo Salgado and his wife, at a time when they no longer had good relations and hardly spoke to each other.

"I realised straight away that something was going to happen. After dinner he asked me to come to his office and asked me what I wanted. And I replied that I wanted BESI to have more capital to develop," Ricciardi began.

"I said that I would do everything so that BESI could have more capital. But he said that for that to happen, I had to have some solidarity with the family. And what did I say about the falsification of the accounts? And he said yes. I told him no".

JGO/ADB // ADB.

Lusa