Altice changes status in the corruption case which, since mid-July, has targeted its former manager and shareholder, Armando Pereira, in Portugal. The telecoms group and its Portuguese subsidiary, Meo, have obtained assistant status with the central criminal investigation court, the newspaper revealed Observador, Thursday October 26. Altice confirms the information.
This designation allows Patrick Drahi’s company to enter into the procedure, a bit like a civil party in France. This gives him access to certain documents in the file, which was not the case before. She will also be able to collaborate more easily with Portuguese magistrates. On the other hand, Altice has still not directly filed a complaint against Mr. Pereira and Hernani Vaz Antunes, also prosecuted by Portuguese justice, neither in France nor in Portugal.
Another decision in this case: Mr. Pereira will be able to await the rest of the procedure at liberty. Justice agreed on Thursday to lift the house arrest imposed on him since his arrest, in exchange for paying a bail of 10 million euros, reported his Portuguese lawyer, Manuel Magalhaes e Silva. His “travel abroad remains subject to prior authorization from the judge”, he told Agence France-Presse. This is the largest bail ever requested by a Portuguese court.
Mr. Pereira was arrested on July 13 during a vast police operation which led to the search of the Altice Portugal headquarters in Lisbon. He is suspected of eleven crimes of corruption and tax fraud. Mr. Pereira’s lawyers dispute them. Considered a victim by the Portuguese prosecutor, Altice would have been harmed to the tune of more than 100 million euros by these practices.
“Betrayed and deceived”
In the wake of this arrest, the group fired or suspended several of its executives close to Mr. Pereira, notably his son-in-law, Yossi Benchetrit, purchasing director of the American subsidiary Altice USA. Saying “betrayed and deceived” through the alleged actions of his former associate, Mr. Drahi ordered the opening of several internal audits, entrusted to law firms. Ties were cut with all subcontracting companies in which Mr. Pereira could have direct or indirect interests.
Even if he minimizes the impact of this corruption affair on the smooth running of his companies, Mr. Drahi, whose empire is burdened by nearly 60 billion euros in debt, was still forced to consider several asset sales, including its French telecoms operator SFR, in order to reassure bankers and investors.
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