João Pedro Oliveira e Costa requests that the “investigation goes to the very end to have full certainty” about the circumstances surrounding the death of the Portuguese executive Pedro Ferraz dos Reis in Mozambique.
The Chief Executive Officer of Portuguese bank BPI, João Pedro Oliveira e Costa, has called for the “investigation to go to the end to have complete certainty” about the circumstances surrounding the death of the Portuguese national Pedro Ferraz dos Reis, an executive appointed by BPI to the bank it operates in Mozambique, in partnership with Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD)), the BCI bank. He also revealed that tPedro Ferraz dos Reis had already agreed with BPI management to continue in Mozambique for a longer period (at least one more term).
Having known him “for more than 20 years,” João Pedro Oliveira e Costa, speaking publicly about the case for the first time, said he was “completely shocked by his death,” which was ruled a suicide by the authorities after they initially suggested it might have been a homicide.
“At this moment I can say that he had very high professional and personal qualities, he loved Mozambique very much, he was highly respected, I can only have very positive memories and I was clearly very shaken,” stated the BPI leader.
“Regarding the circumstances [of the death], the competent authorities must investigate and draw their conclusions,” he added, thanking the President of the Republic and the Government “for all the support they have provided” during this process. João Pedro Oliveira e Costa spoke at a press conference presenting the bank’s annual results in Lisbon.
In addition to expressing “great respect for the family, a wife and two daughters who were supporting their father,” João Pedro Oliveira e Costa reiterated that it was “a huge shock.” The BPI president also confirmed that Pedro Ferraz dos Reis had already communicated that he wished to continue with the bank in Mozambique, something he calmly conveyed to the bank’s management in Lisbon.
There was great confidence in Dr Pedro Ferraz dos Reis and he showed willingness and enthusiasm to continue; he had a passion for Mozambique,” added João Pedro Oliveira e Costa.
Pedro Ferraz dos Reis, who was found dead at the Polana Hotel in Maputo on the 19th, took his own life, concluded the Judiciary Police and the Mozambican Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC), at a press conference in Maputo, the Mozambican capital, on the eve of the Portuguese bank executive’s funeral.
“From what was observed, it does not seem there are any great doubts that this was a suicide,” responded PJ Chief Inspector Santos Martins to a journalist during the question period. Earlier, the SERNIC Director-General had stated that the two judicial authorities had “confirmed and consolidated the result that the Mozambican investigation put forward on the 20th, the day after Pedro Ferraz dos Reis’s death.”
By Edgar Caetano
Source: Observador