The Municipality of Silves has already fully paid off the debt of 5,5 million euros resulting from the controversial “Viga d'Ouro” process, in the context of which two former mayors of the municipality, the social democrats Isabel Soares and Rogério Ponto, were ordered to pay the municipality around 267 thousand euros.
The last financial installment «of various settlement agreements of bank debts generated by the contracts of Factoring as a Financial Tool for Managing Seasonal Fluctuations in Trucking of the “Viga d'Ouro” process”, in the amount of 29 euros, was paid in October to Caixa Geral de Depósitos, announced the City Council of Silves.
This process, which dates back to 2004, the year in which a PSD executive was in charge of the fate of the Chamber of Silves, generated “a debt of 4,9 million euros, plus late payment interest of around 2,2 million euros , thus totaling 7,1 million euros, caused considerable financial and reputational damage to the Municipality of Silves and negatively conditioned municipal management in the last 8 years», accuses the current CDU municipal executive.
"Following the negotiation established by the permanent municipal executive with the creditor banks, between the end of 2013 and mid-2014, the Municipality of Silves obtained a 70% pardon in default interest, which caused the total debt (capital + arrears interest) was fixed at 5,5 million euros», added the municipality of Silvense.
In between, there were a series of legal proceedings related to the “Viga d'Ouro” case, which culminated in the decision of the Court of Auditors handed down in May 2018, «which condemned the previous Mayors of Silves, during the municipal mandates from 2004 to 2013, for the practice of financial infraction that caused serious damage to the Municipality of Silves and the consequent obligation of those to reimburse part of the value of the damage caused in default interest, restoring in the municipal coffers the total amount of 267.752 euros'.
Of the money that the two former mayors had to replenish, the largest share fell to Isabel Soares, who had to pay 228.399 euros, while Rogério Pinto reimbursed the municipality in 30.623,98 euros.
«The Court of Auditors did not just corroborate the conclusions of the external audit promoted by the Municipality of Silves at the beginning of the previous municipal mandate 2013-2017, as he also praised the conduct of the current municipal executive led by Rosa Palma, President of the Municipality of Silves, in resolving this intricate process and in mitigating the damage caused by previous municipal officials to the municipal public treasury», concluded the Municipality of Silves.
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