Former Economy Minister Manuel Pinho expressed his expectation this Monday that he would not be sentenced to a sentence of at least nine years in prison in the EDP Case, as requested by the Public Ministry, ensuring that he had not committed acts of corruption.
Speaking to journalists on the way out of Lisbon’s Central Criminal Court, after the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s (MP) final arguments, the former government official devalued the claim presented by prosecutor Rui Batista and stressed that the magistrate was not faithful to the statements of the witnesses heard during The judgement.
“It’s a request from the MP, tomorrow my lawyer will speak and then the court will decide. I didn’t make predictions… You know perfectly well what was said here and you also know that what the prosecutor said has nothing to do with with what was said here”, stated Manuel Pinho, also commenting on the request for a sentence of no less than nine years in prison: “I don’t believe that this will happen. The judges are fair and, on the other hand, hundreds of witnesses were heard. “.
According to Manuel Pinho, “the MP can say that the witnesses and the material evidence were not what they were”, but the witnesses’ statements “contradict his thesis” of a corruptive pact with the former president of Grupo Espírito Santo (GES) , Ricardo Salgado.
“It has been proven that there are zero acts of corruption. I am completely sure. I do not anticipate [uma decisão]I believe in the court and I am absolutely certain that I did not commit any corruption crime”, he insisted.
This Monday, the MP defended the application of a sentence of no less than nine years in prison for Manuel Pinho, six to seven years in prison for Ricardo Salgado and, finally, a sentence of four years in prison, suspended upon execution, for the former ruler’s wife, Alexandra Pinho.
The trial of the EDP Case continues on Tuesday, from 9:30 am, with the continuation of closing arguments, this time by Manuel Pinho’s defense.
Manuel Pinho, under house arrest since December 2021, is being tried in the EDP case for passive corruption for an illicit act, passive corruption, money laundering and tax fraud.
His wife, Alexandra Pinho, is responsible for money laundering and tax fraud – in material co-authorship with her husband -, while the former president of BES, Ricardo Salgado, is responsible for active corruption for an illicit act, active corruption and money laundering.
