Crimes expire in case derived from BPN and former minister Arlindo Carvalho escapes imprisonment
Lisbon's Central Criminal Court ruled that fraud and tax evasion crimes in a case linked to BPN have expired by prescription. Former Health Minister Arlindo Carvalho, sentenced to six years, will not serve his sentence.
Court dismisses BPN case by prescription and prevents sentences from being served
Lisbon's Central Criminal Court ruled that crimes for which former Health Minister Arlindo Carvalho, former administrators of Banco Português de Negócios (BPN) and other defendants were convicted in a case derived from the BPN scandal had expired by prescription, thereby preventing the serving of prison sentences. The decision was first reported by Correio da Manhã, based on an order signed by judge Ana Paula Rosa on 26 October.
Order confirms maximum 18-year deadline
The order, which news agency Lusa also accessed and which was initially reported by SIC Notícias, concludes — with the agreement of the Public Prosecution Service — that the legally prescribed 18-year period for the crimes of qualified fraud and qualified tax evasion had elapsed.
"As regards the crime of qualified fraud and considering the date when the last act occurred — 31 January 2007 — the maximum period for prescription of criminal proceedings occurred on 31 January 2025. As regards the crime of qualified tax evasion and considering the date it was committed — 13 May 2004 — the maximum period for prescription of criminal proceedings occurred on 13 May 2022," reads the document.
The judge subsequently ordered the case to be filed: "In light of the above, I rule that the criminal proceedings instituted against all defendants are extinct by prescription and I order the case to be filed."
Credit of over 50 million linked to land
The case focuses on the acquisition of land financed by credit obtained from BPN, in an amount exceeding 50 million euros. This is one of several cases extracted from the BPN dossier, the banking scandal whose main trial resulted in the conviction of João Oliveira e Costa to 14 years imprisonment.
Oliveira e Costa had been sentenced in this secondary case to 12 years imprisonment, but the criminal proceedings against the former banker were considered extinct following his death in March 2020.
Defendants had effective prison sentences
The original judgment, dated 12 November 2018, found the crimes of fraud and tax evasion proven against several defendants and sentenced them to effective prison terms. In addition to Arlindo Carvalho, sentenced to six years, Francisco Sanches, Luís Caprichoso and António Coelho Marinho were sentenced — all former BPN administrators — as well as José Neto, a partner of Arlindo Carvalho in a property company, and José Monte Verde, a shareholder and debtor of BPN.
Appeals prolonged proceedings for years
The 2018 judgment was followed by appeals to the highest instance. In May this year, the case had been awaiting a decision from the Constitutional Court for more than two years regarding an incident involving a judge counsellor's recusal, who had since retired in March 2025, as reported by Observador.
When the case returned to first instance so that sentence execution could be ordered, the defendants had already submitted motions alleging prescription, SIC Notícias reported. The court has now upheld these motions, ruling that criminal proceedings against all convicted defendants are extinct.
Source: Correio da Manhã