Known in Portuguese legal circles as the “Black Process”, the case involves the businessman with investments in companies such as YooMee Africa and Hotspur Geothermal in the United Kingdom, an Investment Bank in Mauritius, real estate investments in Germany and Switzerland, in addition to of projects in the hotel and financial areas in Angola.
Along with its expansion, however, came lawsuits. Since 2010, he has been accused of breach of trust, money laundering and criminal association.
Sobrinho was the executive president of Banco Espírito Santo Angola (Besa), and accused of being responsible for embezzlement of funds that occurred during his management. The complaint is that his administration precipitated the fall of Banco Espírito Santo, in Portugal, one of the largest in the country and which shook the financial system.
The case also implicated Switzerland, as the businessman was accused of having used the local financial system to transfer the funds. The accusation was that, on the eve of the institution’s fall, he transferred around US$400 million to Swiss coffers. Prosecutors in Bern froze his bank accounts and properties.
The leak of Suisse Secrets documents also revealed that Sobrinho opened 12 accounts at the Credit Suisse bank, the largest of which had 78 million Swiss francs.
The former banker was investigated and, in 2021, the Confederation Public Ministry closed the case.
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