The European Court of Human Rights has accepted the complaint made by Brazilian lawyers Rafael Valim and Walfrido Warde, who accuse the Portuguese justice system of practicing racism and “colonialism” against the former Portuguese-Angolan banker Álvaro Sobrinho. The information was published by journalist Jamil Chade, from UOL.
The news is celebrated by lawyers Rafael Valim and Walfrido Warde, since about 98% of the complaints that reach the European Court of Human Rights are declared inadmissible. The lawsuit, it is worth noting, was made up of former judges of the European court.
Known
as the “Black Process”, the case involving the former banker has dragged on for more than 13 years and is famous in Portugal. One of the country’s biggest businessmen, the Portuguese-Angolan has investments in gigantic businesses, such as YooMee Africa and Hotspur Geothermal in the United Kingdom, as well as an Investment Bank in Mauritius.
Álvaro Sobrinho also has real estate investments in Germany and Switzerland, as well as several projects in his home country. Despite his wealth, since 2010, the Angolan billionaire has been living with accusations of abuse of trust, money laundering and criminal association.
His biggest problem in court happened while he was the executive president of Banco Espírito Santo Angola (Besa). Sobrinho is accused of having embezzled funds from the fund after the bank “failed” in Portugal. More than that, Swiss prosecutors claim that the former banker transferred $400 million to Swiss coffers on the eve of the bank’s collapse.
In Portugal, Sobrinho got complicated with the process. More than 11 years after the proceedings, in 2022, the Central Court of Criminal Instruction of Lisbon determined a record penalty: the payment of a bail of 6 million euros. In addition, the Angolan was prohibited from leaving the country, having to report to the Portuguese authorities every six months.
Accusation of racism and colonialism
According to the UOL report, lawyers Rafael Valim and Walfrido Warde accuse the Portuguese justice system of racism because Sobrinho is the only one to suffer coercive measures in a process that involves other defendants. everyone else being white.
In the documents, Brazilian lawyers also argue that Sobrinho’s father was a nationalist leader in Angola. Finally, the defense also claims that the confiscation of the Angolan’s passports is a practice of “piracy”, since the Portuguese justice system would not have this right.
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