Lisbon, Sept. 2, 2025 (Lusa) - The Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) confronted José Sócrates in court on Tuesday with wiretaps in which he arranged a dinner in 2014 at the home of former banker Ricardo Salgado, even though the former prime minister insisted that the meal never took place.

In the telephone intercepts dated April 2014 and reproduced today in the Operation Marquês trial, the former prime minister (2005-2011) agrees, through his secretary, to have dinner at Ricardo Salgado's house in Cascais, at a meeting to which the then executive chairman of Portugal Telecom (PT), Henrique Granadeiro, was also invited.

‘I was invited to dinner, but it didn't happen, and I'm convinced that it didn't happen precisely because Henrique Granadeiro didn't turn up,’ José Sócrates reiterated today, downplaying the fact that, the day after the scheduled date, he was overheard saying that the meal at the home of the then chairman of Banco Espírito Santo (BES) had taken place.

José Sócrates, 67, has been indicted on 22 counts, including three of corruption, for allegedly receiving money to benefit the Lena group, the Espírito Santo Group (GES), which was linked to BES at the time, a shareholder in PT, and the Vale do Lobo development in the Algarve.

Ricardo Salgado, 81 and suffering from Alzheimer's, and Henrique Granadeiro, the same age, are other of the 21 defendants in the case.

The 21 defendants, who together are accused of 117 economic and financial crimes, have generally denied any wrongdoing.

The trial began on 3 July at Lisbon's Central Criminal Court and is scheduled to continue on Wednesday, with additional requests for clarification from the Public Prosecutor's Office, specifically regarding José Sócrates' relationship with the Lena group.

IB // FPA

Lusa/fim