Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa is reportedly “suing” former central bank governor Carlos Costa (no relation) over comments the latter made in a book about to go on sale.
“The Governor”, written by journalist Luis Rosa and published by Dom Quixote, will be officially launched next Tuesday at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon.
It focuses on Costa’s turbulent 10-year tenure, during which he had to deal with numerous controversies, scandals, and bank failures.
Costa isn’t the only politician Carlos Costa has dealt with – but he appears to be the only one who has taken legal action so far.
The reason for this is that Carlos Costa claims that Antonio Costa tried to interfere with his decision to remove “the richest woman in Africa” (at the time) – Isabel dos Santos – from the board of directors of BIC Bank.
Miss Dos Santos lives in Dubai. She is wanted for questioning by various banking and tax authorities, and international press investigations have generally “exposed” her corruption. In June this year, Isabel dos Santos was cited in at least 17 criminal investigations opened by DCIAP (Central Department of Criminal Investigation and Criminal Procedure) and which are being investigated by Attorney General Rosario Teixeira, the Observador explains.
But by the time Carlos Costa wanted her off the BIC board, dos Santos’ influence was at its peak. As such, she was reportedly furious at the attempt to withdraw it and had all the support she could muster: among the “big hitters” in this regard was Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
All of this is explained by the Observador in a pre-post of excerpts from the book, which continues the story: The Head of Government did not ignore Isabel dos Santos’ messages and decided to contact the Governor of the Bank of Portugal.
And what Antonio Costa apparently said is: The daughter of the head of a country friendly to Portugal cannot be treated badly. »
Costa Luis tells Rosa: “It was certainly not the easiest period of my life and it made me fear for my safety…”.
As events have shown, “neither pressure from Antonio Costa nor pressure from other heroes of Portuguese political life succeeded. Carlos Costa continued his path and Isabel dos Santos (and another board member) was replaced…” Rosa wrote.
The book is clearly full of revelations and behind-the-scenes intrigue. Carlos Costa refers to the Luanda Lakes “scandal” that finally exposed Dos Santos as the point where whoever was” close your eyes “ To finally accept that there wasn’t much they could do.
” this timeRosa writes. Antonio Costa never called Carlos Costa. Pragmatism also knows how to realize that when a person falls into disgrace, he can no longer be saved..
Last night, Antonio Costa denied Carlos Costa’s allegations, concluding that he would “prosecute” the retired bank chief.
The Prime Minister said that Carlos Costa’s remarks ” You offend my name, my honor and my esteem. I called Dr. Carlos Costa, who didn’t back down (What did he say) Excuse meThe Prime Minister told reporters, so the lawyer will take appropriate legal action.
This latest noise erupted within a week when Mr. Costa was Deputy Foreign Minister He was eventually forced to resign under a cloud of highly questionable questions It is more damaging to a government that seems to have been mired in inappropriate allegations for weeks.
The opposition Social Democrats said that this particular “jewel” was new to them. “The prime minister must be accountable to the country,” said the party’s vice chairman Because “the conclusion is that he attempted an interview with an independent institution … “.
“O Governador” is already for sale by wokPresented as an essential document for understanding a particularly important period of our recent history, from the point of view of one of its major (and most secretive) protagonists.
