The Court of Auditors has definitively condemned the former mayors of Silves, Isabel Soares and Rogério Pinto, in the context of the “Viga D'Ouro” case, announced the Municipality, which reveals that it had been notified “of judgment no. 7/2018, of May 23, 2018» on the last October 3rd.
Thus, according to the judgment of the Court of Auditors, Isabel Soares and Rogério Pinto, as authors of a "financial infringement of a reintegration nature", must return to the Municipality of Silves a total of close to 260 thousand euros, plus late payment interest.
Isabel Soares will have the biggest share, who will have to repay 228.399 euros, while Rogério Pinto will have to repay 30.623,98 euros.
The aforementioned judgment was issued by the plenary of the 3rd Chamber of the Court of Auditors, following an appeal filed by Isabel Soares and Rogério Pinto against the previous sentence handed down. by the same Court on January 17, 2018, after carrying out a judgment required by the Public Ministry and held at the end of last year.
This judgment was intended to carry out the "reintegrating financial liabilities, taking into account the financial offenses indicted after an external audit of the Municipality of Silves and identified in the consolidated report of the 2nd Section of the Court of Auditors No. 4/2016, dated 16 June 2016" .
The Municipality of Silves, now chaired by Rosa Palma, stresses that this is the «summit of a judicial process that has its origins in the “Viga D'Ouro” case, which dates back to December 2004, but whose repercussions still affect the current financial management of the Municipality of Silves, since principal debts and late payment interest amounting to more than five million euros have been paid from mid-2014 to October 2020 (date of payment of the last outstanding installment)».
According to the Court of Auditors, the former mayors of the municipality “omitted payments to the banks (formerly BES, BCP and CGD) that acquired the credits that the company “Viga D'Ouro” held in the Municipality of Silves, which gave rise to several lawsuits, which culminated in the authority's obligation to make the coercive payment of the outstanding capital, plus large default interest, which resulted in substantial damage to the public purse, quantified at 668 thousand euros».
The Court found that Isabel Soares, while responsible for the municipality, "incurred in an ethical-personal attitude of indifference, acting unlawfully and with guilt, since she did not fulfill, in due time, the obligation to settle the debts she assumed on behalf of the Municipality. of Silves with the banks, and, through the suspension of payments, led the municipality to assume financial charges higher than those initially due, in violation of the legal norms to which it was obliged».
As for Rogério Pinto, the Court noted that he, "after assuming the presidency of the Municipality of Silves, had the powers that allowed him to put an end to the situations of illegality that non-compliance with banks brought to the municipality and the consequences that they could result from this for the public purse, but he did nothing, which is why his conduct was equally censured and considered unlawful».
In this context, the Court of Auditors concluded that Isabel Soares and Rogério Pinto are "responsible for the practice of financial infringement", which resulted in losses for the Municipality of Silves, "with the consequence of an obligation to reimburse the value of the damage caused".
The former high authorities of the municipality appealed to the Court to excuse their financial responsibility, which was denied, given the seriousness of the illegality of the facts and the value of the damage caused to the public purse.
Considering, however, that the conduct of those responsible was judged to be merely "negligent", that "they had no record of financial infringements", and "in view of the personal impact of the conviction", the Court decided to reduce the amount of the amount to be replaced. in municipal coffers from 668.823,97 euros to 259.022,98 euros.
“This is the last chapter of the “Viga D'Ouro” case, which closes, with the conviction of Isabel Soares and Rogério Pinto to pay the Municipality of Silves a significant part of the damages caused to the public purse,” stresses the note from the municipality.
"According to the judges who signed the consolidated report of June 16, 2016, were it not for the intervention and negotiation effort of the current municipal executive with the Bank, the losses for the Municipality of Silves would be much higher than that determined by the Court of Accounts, and, as a result, Isabel Soares and Rogério Pinto would have to return to the municipal coffers amounts much higher than those determined by the aforementioned Court».
The permanent municipal executive, led by the communist Rosa Palma, considers, finally, that the recent decision of the Court of Auditors, “in addition to ensuring the defense of legality and the public interest in the good administration of public funds, comes to minimize the damage caused by the “Viga D'Ouro” process to the municipal public treasury and safeguard, as far as possible, the interests of the populations of the municipality of Silves».
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