The Chairman of the Securities Market Commission (CMVM), Luís Laginha de Sousa, is a creditor of TAP, because he subscribed to the bonds issued by the airline in 2019. the company, Laginha de Sousa cannot decide anything about this.
“The law does not allow me to take part in the decisions that have the effect of TAP, although I fully support and understand these decisions and that I can give explanations, according to what I mentioned”, said Luís Laginha de Sousa at the time. Thursday, April 13, at the Legislative Committee of Inquiry.
In his opening speech, Mr. Laginha de Sousa said that before taking up his position as chairman of the CMVM, which took place in November 2022, he registered with TAP. Bonds are debt securities issued by companies – investors write them to earn interest, helping to finance the companies that issue them.
TAP issued bonds in May 2019 in Portugal, where it wanted 50 million euros, but the demand made the amount rise to 200 million euros.
Laginha de Sousa is one of the investors who contributed this money, which now prevents him from doing so. The former director of Banco de Portugal leads the group with four other members (Inês Drumond, Juliano Ferreira, Teresa Gil and José Miguel Almeida)
TAP with a deadline to respond to the error
At the TAP Commission of Inquiry, Laginha de Sousa confirmed what was already known: “There is an administrative fault line to find out what TAP can do wrong”.
“The issues in question respect the quality and timing of information to the market regarding the resignation of directors. TAP has been notified, and the deadline for the announcement is on its way”, said the President of CMVM.
Order for more information
Although the head of the regulator did not want to emphasize the criminal process, the fact is that the CMVM forced TAP to provide new information to the market about the departure of Alexandra Reis.
Luís Laginha de Sousa went ahead to the ministers who decided to send information with TAP, in addition, because of the information provided by the company. And since doubts arose about the agreement and reasons for the departure of Alexandra Reis from TAP, two statements were made by the company to the market.
One of the announcements is of December 28, where an addition was made to the one made in February 2022, for the departure of Alexandra Reis and TAP, and in this sequence it became clear that the manager left through the agreement negotiated between the parties. for the “actions” of the company, not for leaving the company, for personal reasons.
On March 9, 2023, a new sentence has been issued in the case of Alexandra Reis, where the report of the General Inspectorate of Finance is at stake, where the exit contract of the manager was considered illegal due to the violation of the Public Manager Statute. .
no complaints
Although the CMVM is examining the information sent to the market about the “resignation of directors” – without specifying whether it is the case of Alexandra Reis, who left in January 2022 -, Laginha de Sousa said that there are no complaints from the party of bondholders.
“So far”, announced Laginha de Sousa, there have been no “complaints, complaints or requests to know more about the process”, which, for the head of the CMVM, is good data since these are “dangerous signs”.