41 minSeason 1 • Episode 4
LatestOn a hot Sunday night in August 2014, television broadcasts are interrupted by a statement to the nation. The Governor of the Bank of Portugal announces that BES has just gone bankrupt. Deposits were saved; the rest remained uncertain. The government did not intervene. Portugal lost its largest financial group. As collateral damage, Portugal Telecom collapsed. Meanwhile, retail clients discovered that their savings in commercial paper were not, in fact, protected. Protests erupted in the streets. Ten years later, thousands of people are still awaiting compensation.
Between 2008 and 2014, as the accounts were being doctored, Ricardo Salgado risked everything: international credit, clients' money, political influence, friends, etc. One day, the end came. The Espírito Santo family survived the fall of the monarchy, lived and prospered under the dictatorship. They were expelled and nationalized following the Carnation Revolution, but returned in the 80s. They bought back their bank and became the largest and most international Portuguese group.
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