Following the case of João Rendeiro, there is now another banker on the brink of evading Portuguese justice. Álvaro Sobrinho has been out of Portugal for three months and has no set date for return. The trial is about to begin in Lisbon, and no one knows if the main defendant will take his place in the dock.
SIC’s investigation revealed that, in August, the former president of BES Angola was detained at Lisbon airport, and his passport was seized. Why? He has not been Portuguese for 40 years.
SIC discovered that Álvaro Sobrinho renounced his Portuguese nationality in 1984, yet continued using Portuguese documents up until this year.
Without dual nationality, Álvaro Sobrinho returned to Luanda without complying with the Terms of Identity and Residence, which lists his declared address in Cascais.
Since he is no longer Portuguese, Angola cannot be compelled to extradite him to Portugal if ordered by Portuguese justice to stand trial in a case where he is accused of diverting 400 million euros from the Angolan branch of BES.
Registry Institute Admits “Failure” In a response sent to SIC, the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN) confirmed that Álvaro Sobrinho has not been Portuguese since 1984, but the record was digitized only in 2011.
The IRN admits there may have been a “communication failure” that allowed the successive renewal of documents over 40 years.
“The improper issuance of identification documents can be explained by a failure in communication between the civil identity and registry systems, or an anomaly in database annotations. The irregularity was detected internally in April 2024, and corrective measures were taken.”
The internal communication regarding the loss of nationality reached the Precautionary Measures Office of the Coordination Unit for Borders and Foreigners in April, via an email sent by the Civil Identification Department of the IRN.
“Following a data validation action in April this year, the IRN detected the irregularity and activated the defined protocol for such cases, leading to the cancellation of the documents, communication of the loss of nationality to the relevant authorities, and the adoption of internal measures to prevent any potential improper document renewal.”
The IRN disclosed that between 2018 and 2023, 502 citizens renounced Portuguese nationality. Álvaro Sobrinho did so in 1984, yet continued using Portuguese documents until 2024. His passport and ID card were seized in August, and the banker officially traveled to Luanda with only one nationality.
He has been in Luanda for three months, far from the justice system that is set to try him soon for breach of trust and money laundering.
SIC Notícias, 11/07/2024
