Manuel Pinho sentence reduced by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Justice has reduced the prison sentence of former Minister of Economy Manuel Pinho from 10 years to eight years and six months. The court noted that while the crimes were grave, the reduction is justified by the time elapsed since the offenses, his age, lack of criminal record, and social integration.

Pinho was convicted of passive corruption, money laundering, and tax fraud for receiving approximately 4.9 million euros to favor the interests of Banco Espírito Santo (BES) and the Espírito Santo Group (GES) during the first government of José Sócrates.

Following the sentence reduction, the Lisbon Central Criminal Court has released Pinho from house arrest after nearly five years of detention. However, the court has imposed a prohibition on him leaving the national territory.