““By November 2013 tensions within the Espírito Santo family were close to breaking point. José Maria Espírito Santo Ricciardi, chief executive of Espírito Santo’s investment bank, blamed Mr Salgado – his older cousin – for the mounting problems at ESI. Mr Ricciardi was one of nine people present at a family council meeting in Lisbon in late 2013. Only the senior representatives of the five branches of the family had a vote, according to people with knowledge of the meeting. Exasperated, Mr Ricciardi walked out, slamming the door, when he was not allowed to vote against Mr Salgado. His father voted with the other four representatives in unanimous support of the family patriarch. But having survived the rebellion, Mr Salgado was facing a dire situation at ESI. In its last filing, Rioforte showed it had current debts of €2.9bn, or almost 35 times its declared profits before tax and interest of €84m. Interest charges alone amounted to €89m.””
