"The relationship with Sonangol is very correct. It has always been, since I became a director, since 2009, absolutely correct," said Miguel Maya, in response to journalists on the fringes of the Banking Summit held in Lisbon.
The manager also said that his relationship with Manuel Vicente, former vice-president and former president of Sonangol, was also "completely correct" and said that it was within the scope of the usual thanks to shareholders that in 2012 (a few days after taking office as vice-president) sent a letter to Manuel Vicente.
"I had several interactions with Sonangol, which played an important role in the recovery that BCP made and in 2012 I was invited - not by Sonangol or any shareholder - by Dr. Nuno Amado to be vice-president, which I accepted. At the end of each general meeting I thanked the people who delegated votes to me and I also took care to thank the main shareholders", justified Maya.
The magazine Sábado, in its report 'Angola's attack on Portuguese banks', published this Thursday, tells the story of Angola's influence in banking in Portugal and publishes a letter from Maya to Manuel Vicente in which the manager refers to the "privilege" of depriving with the politician and the "lessons" transmitted.
Miguel Maya also assured journalists that "BCP has never granted credit to Sonangol to acquire shares".
Regarding Sonangol's participation in BCP, where it is the second largest shareholder with 19.5 per cent of the share capital (the main shareholder is the Chinese group Fosun with around 27 per cent, according to the latest information), Maya considered that there is no reason to "change the participation in the bank".
Still on how BCP controls financial operations that may be suspicious, Maya said the bank he leads has a good system to assess whether the operations comply with existing laws and regulations and that in any suspicious movement he reports to the authorities, but he also said he is always available for scrutiny by supervisors.
"Everything that regulators obviously ask we answer. We have a record of any account movement at the BCP, everything is recorded and can be analysed by the authorities at any time. We have a level of scrutiny and a level of quality of information that guarantees total transparency", he said.
Asked about the impact of the 'Luanda Leaks' revelations on the bank, Miguel Maya said that BCP does not act on news, as it has alert mechanisms, but he admitted that the news leads to increased attention.
"The only thing we do when we see news in the newspapers about some names is to validate if there have been transfers that may not have been detected, it is an additional 'check', but we have the models set up so as not to need these news," he said.
Miguel Maya also admitted that the case of 'Luanda Leaks' can be reflected in the whole system: "Everything bad that happens to a bank in Portugal is reflected in the whole system, it would not be correct or sincere to say that I do not care".
