Ricardo Salgado
Ricardo Espírito Santo Silva Salgado | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 25, 1944 Cascais, Portugal |
| Occupation(s) | Economist, banker |
| Known for | Former chairman of Banco Espírito Santo; convicted on corruption charges |
Ricardo Espírito Santo Silva Salgado (born June 25, 1944) is a Portuguese economist, banker, and convicted offender. As the former chairman of Banco Espírito Santo, an institution established by his grandfather, he held the distinction of being Portugal’s longest-serving active banker until July 2014.
On July 24, 2014, Salgado was apprehended during an inquiry into allegations of tax evasion and money laundering. After interrogation by a magistrate at Lisbon’s central criminal investigation court, he was released on bail set at €3 million.
Education
Originating from Cascais, Salgado is descended from prominent figures including his great-grandfather José Maria Espírito Santo Silva and maternal grandfather Ricardo Espírito Santo Silva Ribeiro. His formative education took place in Lisbon, where he attended public primary school followed by Liceu Pedro Nunes.
He earned a degree in economics from the Higher Institute of Economic and Financial Sciences at the Universidade Técnica de Lisboa in 1969. Subsequently, he fulfilled military obligations in the Portuguese Navy by completing the Naval Reserve Officer Training Course.
Career
Ricardo Salgado began his professional journey at Banco Espírito Santo e Comercial de Lisboa in 1972, initially directing the Economic Studies Bureau and later overseeing the Credit Board until the bank’s nationalization in 1975. From abroad, he contributed to reconstructing the Espírito Santo Group, first operating out of Brazil (1976–1982) and then relocating to Switzerland (1982–1991). Following the bank’s reprivatization in 1991, he assumed the role of Executive Chairman at Banco Espírito Santo (BES), significantly increasing its market share from 8% to 20% and expanding its presence to 23 countries across four continents.
In 2002, Salgado joined the supervisory board of Euronext NV based in Amsterdam and played a role in its 2006 merger with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), remaining a non-executive board member until 2011. Additionally, he served as a non-executive Director at Banco Bradesco (Brazil) between 2003 and 2012.
Within the Espírito Santo Group, he held several senior positions including Senior Board member, Deputy Chairman and Executive Chairman of BES, chairman of Espírito Santo Financial Group SA (Luxembourg), Banco Espírito Santo de Investimento, as well as board roles at Banque Privée Espírito Santo SA (Lausanne) and Banque Espírito Santo et de la Vénétie (Paris).
Salgado led BES’s international expansion strategy targeting Africa, Brazil, and Spain; these foreign operations eventually represented half of BES’s overall profits. Under his guidance in 2012, BES was unique among major Portuguese private banks by raising capital exclusively through shareholders and equity markets without resorting to public funds. In January 2013, BES facilitated Portugal’s re-entry into financial markets following intervention by the European troika.
A significant audit by the Bank of Portugal in May 2014 raised concerns regarding BES’s financial health and transparency. After subsequent credit rating downgrades, Salgado stepped down as CEO. He was detained on July 24, 2014 amid investigations into tax evasion and money laundering but released on bail with travel and communication restrictions.
A Deloitte audit commissioned in 2015 for Bank of Portugal revealed that during Salgado’s tenure, BES breached regulatory rules on twenty-one occasions between December 2013 and July 2014, engaging in "deliberate acts of destructive management."
Awards
In 1992, the Portuguese Association of Economists honored him as Economist of the Year, and in 2001, the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce of Brazil recognized him as Personality of the Year. His accolades also include being named Chevalier de L’Ordre National du Mérite by France in 1994, receiving the Grande Oficial da Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul from Brazil in 1998, being appointed Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by France in 2005, and awarded the Commander's Cross Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in 2012. That same year, Deloitte’s Investor Relations and Governance Awards presented him with a Lifetime Achievement award for his contributions to Financial Markets. In July 2013, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa conferred upon him an honorary doctorate recognizing his impact on economics, culture, and science.
Money-laundering charges
In July 2014, Banco Espírito Santo (BES) underwent a historic shift when it came under independent administration for the first time, breaking its longstanding association with its founding family amid financial distress. The group’s three principal companies sought judicial protection against creditors. Following his arrest and interrogation, Ricardo Espírito Santo Silva Salgado was officially named a suspect in a money-laundering inquiry.
Born in 1944 into the Espírito Santo banking lineage, Salgado spearheaded the family’s return to Portugal and reclaimed control of BES after its 1975 nationalization. Renowned for his discreet lifestyle dedicated solely to banking affairs, he was a pivotal figure in Portuguese finance for over twenty years. His tenure was marked by internal family conflicts over succession and intense competition within the business sector.
Although once highly influential, Salgado’s reputation deteriorated significantly during BES’s financial collapse. According to Jornal de Negócios, he was ranked as the third most powerful individual in Portugal’s economy in 2013; however, by 2014, he had dropped to 48th place. The mounting financial and legal difficulties confronting Espírito Santo Financial Group have deepened rifts within both the family and its business alliances.
Corruption charges
Ricardo Salgado became involved in investigations related to Operation Marquis and White Mountain. On 7 March 2022, he was sentenced to six years in prison on corruption charges linked to Operation Marquis. Both Salgado and the prosecution filed appeals against this ruling. On 24 May 2023, the Lisbon Court of Appeal extended his sentence to eight years. Following this decision, Salgado appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice. On 6 June 2024, the Supreme Court handed down a final sentence of six years of actual imprisonment.