Ricardo Salgado

Ricardo Espírito Santo Silva Salgado (born June 25, 1944) is a Portuguese economist, banker, and convicted criminal. Former president of Banco Espírito Santo, which was founded by his grandfather, he was, until July 2014, the banker active for the longest time in Portugal.

Salgado was detained on 24 July 2014 in an investigation into suspected tax evasion and money laundering. He was later released on bail of €3m after being questioned by a magistrate at Lisbon's central court of criminal investigation.

Education Ricardo Salgado was born in Cascais. The great-grandson of José Maria Espírito Santo Silva and maternal grandson of Ricardo Espírito Santo Silva Ribeiro, Salgado spent the first years of his life in Lisbon. He lived in Lapa, where he studied at a public elementary school and later at Liceu Pedro Nunes.

He has a degree in economics from the Higher Institute of Economic and Financial Sciences of the Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (1969), and did his military service in the Portuguese Navy, on the Officer Training Course of the Naval Reserve. In January 2013 BES was the only Portuguese bank to manage the operation that marks the return of Portugal to the markets, since the country has been subject to the European troika's intervention.

In May 2014, the Bank of Portugal issued a scathing audit which questioned the financial stability and transparency of BES. In the wake of this report, and subsequent downgrades of the bank's credit, Ricardo Salgado announced his resignation from the post of CEO.

Ricardo Salgado was detained on 24 July 2014 in an investigation into suspected tax evasion and money laundering in which Salgado, was later released on bail of €3m after being questioned by an investigating magistrate at Lisbon's central court of criminal investigation.

Awards He was voted Economist of the Year in 1992 by the Portuguese Association of Economists and voted Personality of the Year by the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce of Brazil in 2001. In 1994 he was decorated, Chevalier de L’Ordre National du Mérite, French Republic, in 1998, Grande Oficial da Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul, by the President of the Federal Republic of Brazil, in 2005, Chevalier de la Légion D´Honneur, French Republic and more recently, in 2012, he was decorated with the Commander's Cross Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary. In July 2013, Ricardo Espírito Santo Silva Salgado was awarded a doctorate honoris causa by the Universidade Técnica de Lisboa for his services to the economy, culture, science and to the university. "For the first time in its history, Banco Espírito Santo, one of Portugal’s largest banks, has been placed under independent management with no connection to the banking dynasty that gives the lender its name. The family business empire is in turmoil after its three main companies filed for court protection from creditors. Salgado, who was detained and questioned on Thursday, has been made a formal suspect in a money-laundering investigation. The epitome of Portuguese banking’s fondness for sober suits and wood-panelled boardrooms, Salgado has maintained his traditional gravitas through months of intense crisis for the family group. His serious image matches the power and influence that many believe Portugal’s best-known banker has wielded for 15 years or more. The media has dubbed him “DDT”, the initials for “Dono Disto Tudo”, or “Owner of All This”, a nickname said to have originated in the Espírito Santo family itself. Salgado was born in 1944 into what was already a wealthy banking dynasty, one of a handful of powerful families that António de Oliveira Salazar, the rightwing dictator, allowed to dominate the Portuguese economy. The Espírito Santos mingled with the Rockefellers and befriended the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. But the family's social origins were more humble, some suggesting that their name – which translates as Holy Spirit – originates from a surname traditionally given to babies left at churches by destitute mothers.

As a 30-year-old junior director, Salgado escaped being imprisoned with several senior family members, who were held for months after the 1974 coup that overthrew the dictatorship. In 1975, the banking sector was nationalised and the Espírito Santos dispersed abroad, Salgado living in Brazil and Switzerland. By 1991, he had established himself as the head of the family, leading its return to Portugal and the reacquisition of its bank through a reprivatisation programme. Although wealthy, Salgado is not known for an ostentatious lifestyle, telling a Portuguese newspaper in May 2014 that “my life begins at 8.30 am in the bank and ends at 10 pm in the bank”.

Salgado's influence rapidly waned. According to annual rankings drawn up by the Jornal de Negócios newspaper, Salgado was the third most powerful person in the Portuguese economy in 2013; in 2014 he was in the 48th position.

Corruption charges Ricardo Salgado is accused in the Operation Marquis case.

Ricardo Salgado is accused in the White Mountain case.

On 7 March 2022, Ricardo Salgado was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment following proven corruption charges (Operation Marquis case). Both Salgado and the Public Prosecutors appealed the decision to the Lisbon Court of Appeal, which on 24 May 2023 decided to increase his prison sentence to 8 years. After this, Salgado appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice.

On 6 June 2024, Ricardo Salgado was sentenced to 6 years in effective prison.