Communists don’t usually bother capitalists these days but in the Portuguese parliament Communist deputy Lino de Carvalho has been giving Vitor Martins, a consultant to Citigroup, a hard time over the bank’s contract to securitise uncollected tax and insurance payments.
Mr Martins is a former minister of European affairs and so has historical links to government. Hence Mr de Carvalho has asked for reassurance that there are no “relaçőes perigosas” [dangerous relations] involving senior state officials and the private sector.
The point he is missing, however, is the risk involved in raising bonds against unpaid taxes. The communists should be thanking Citi for taking on the job rather than complaining about it.
Brian Caplen
