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Ricardo Salgado, recently forced to quit as head of stricken Portuguese bank Banco Espirito Santo, was arrested on Thursday in connection with money laundering, press agency Lusa reported citing a judicial source.
Salgado was arrested early in the day at his home near Lisbon, the source said, a day after several premises in the Espirito Santo group were searched on Wednesday.
The 70-year-old Salgado, who had run the bank, known as BES, for 23 years, was forced out of office on June 20 as pressure rose amid allegations of accounting irregularities in some of its holding companies.
The bank itself is the biggest private bank in Portugal where it has interests in many sectors of the economy.
BES shares have plunged as the crisis surrounding it gathered pace in recent weeks, raising concerns about possible repercussions on the Portuguese banking system and economy, but the central bank has said that it is confident that shareholders in the overall group would come forward if necessary.
ode/hd/mkh