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Alvaro Sobrinho, an Angolan businessman and former president of Banco Esprito Santo Angola (now Banco Economico Angola), has until March 31, exactly 10 days, to pay a security deposit of €6 million ($6.64 million) ordered by a Portuguese court.
Sobrinho, who was interrogated at the Central Criminal Investigation Court on Thursday by Judge Carlos Alexandre, is charged with five counts of aggravated abuse of trust, eight counts of aggravated abuse of trust, and seven counts of money laundering in connection with the benefits obtained through the aforementioned criminal co-authorship activities.
Aside from the $6.64-million bond, the Angolan businessman was subjected to various coercive measures, including a prohibition on leaving the country until the deposit is fully paid, a requirement to report to Portuguese authorities quarterly, and a prohibition on exiting the Schengen Zone with rapid passport handover.
Judge Carlos Alexandre indicated that if the bail is not paid within 10 working days, the coercive measures would be promptly reconsidered in relation to the deadline.
The action comes only days after the Portuguese Central Department of Inquiry and Criminal Action launched a new investigation against Alvaro Sobrinho for stealing millions of euros from Banco Economico Angola, one of Angola’s leading financial services organizations.
The Angolan millionaire was charged in the latest inquiry of stealing more than €350 million ($387 million) from BES Angola (now Banco Economico) out of a total of €400 million ($442 million) that benefited a group of defendants, including Amlcar Morais Pires and former banker Ricardo Salgado.
The criminal inquiry is part of an ongoing investigation into an erroneous €6-billion ($6.6 billion) concession made between 2009 and 2013.
Sobrinho, who was instrumental in the formation of Banco Economico and led the Angolan bank into a financial catastrophe with billions of dollars in unexplained debt, is tied to a conspiracy in 2009 to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars from an Angolan government-backed social housing project.
