The an Government has agreed to pay approximately 400,000 euros to Américo Ramos, a former Finance minister wrongfully detained in 2019. Ramos, who was accused of embezzling 17 million dollars from the Kuwaiti Fund, was held in pre-trial detention for three months before the case was dismissed.
Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada labeled the detention as “illegal” and criticized the process as flawed. On August 27, he stated that Ramos, an innocent man, was unjustly imprisoned and is now entitled to reparations.
Ramos, who served as finance minister from 2014 to 2018 under Trovoada and is currently the governor of the Central Bank, had his compensation request approved by the Council of Ministers on August 9. The Minister of Justice has been tasked with ensuring the compensation is paid in accordance with the court’s decision, despite the country’s financial constraints.
The Attorney General has been asked to negotiate the payment details while ensuring Ramos’s right to compensation is upheld. The arrest of Ramos, who was serving as an advisor to former President Evaristo Carvalho at the time, was criticized by legal experts, particularly because the Public Prosecutor’s Office had initially contested the charges and later closed the case.