Sharp drop in Portugal Telecom shares, which on the Lisbon Stock Exchange dropped around 12,6% to more than 0,7 euro in the mid-afternoon, after falling to more than -17% in the morning. The searches carried out yesterday triggered the flop by the judicial police at the group headquarters.
The investigations are part of an investigation carried out together with the authorities of the Cmvm Stock Exchange on the financial investments of Portugal Telecom for alleged fraud. Rioforte, one of the bankrupt holding companies of Banca Espirito Santo, failed to repay a loan of almost 900 million euros to Portugal Telecom in July. Furthermore, according to analysts, the news reported by the newspaper "Diario Economico" according to which the meeting called on January 12 to rule on the sale of the Portuguese assets of Portugal Telecom to the French Altice could be postponed, according to analysts. Some information deemed necessary would be missing, such as a report by the consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers on the loans granted to Espirito Santo by Portugal Telecom since 2000.
Ricardo Salgado, former number one of Banco Espirito Santo, a shareholder of Portugal Telecom, is in fact suspected by the justice of having taken advantage of the telecommunications operator to replenish the family empire, aided by some former executives of Portugal Telecom
