“The only official document is signed by two people [Manuel Beja e Christine Oumières-Widener] and then we understood that responsibilities fell,” said the Inspector General of Finance, António Ferreira dos Santos, who is being heard in the parliamentary committee of inquiry into the political oversight of TAP’s management.
Responding to Chega’s deputy Filipe Melo, the head of the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) said that in the case of the financial administrator, Gonçalo Pires, the Court of Auditors (TdC) will be able to assess whether there are responsibilities or not, upon departure from former administrator Alexandra Reis, with compensation of half a million euros.
As for former Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos and former Infrastructure Secretary Hugo Mendes, the IGF concluded that “there was actually an awareness of the situation”, but it is not for the entity to make political assessments, assuming that these responsibilities have been taken over.
When asked whether the IGF heard Finance Minister Fernando Medina, the Inspector General explains that the scope of the audit was defined and that the official took office after the departure of Alexandra Reis, so his hearing was not considered relevant .
“The intervention of the IGF is clearly of a financial nature, it had financial consequences and these will be determined by the competent court, the Court of Auditors, pointed out António Ferreira dos Santos.
The IGF also added that the Commission of Inquiry had asked for additional documentation in addition to those already sent, which will be delivered on Thursday.
The government announced on March 6 the resignation of the airline’s executive president, Christine Ourmières-Widener, and the chairman of the board of directors, Manuel Beja, following the announcement of the results of an audit by the (IGF), which concluded that the agreement for the departure of Alexandra Reis is void and a large part of the compensation of almost half a million euros will have to be paid back.
The controversy began in late December, when Correio da Manhã reported that the then Secretary of State for Finance had received compensation of around €500,000 for leaving the company’s management two years ahead of schedule.
The process was negotiated under the Code of Commercial Companies, when TAP falls under the status of public trustee.
The case led to a reshuffle in the government, including the departure of former Infrastructure and Housing Minister Pedro Nuno Santos.
Source: DN
