A 2016 action connected to Berardo sparked a charge of qualified fraud against him, a pivotal moment in the ongoing dispute.

The appeal, filed in October, follows a January district court ruling that denied banks access to records, while earlier a first-instance ruling favored Berardo.

Banks CGD, BCP, and Novo Banco are pursuing about one billion euros in loans linked to Berardo’s ventures.

The appellate effort seeks to uncover information about the Berardo Collections Association, a less visible but central entity in Berardo’s organizational map.

Banks are pursuing roughly one billion euros in loans extended to Joe Berardo’s business empire by targeting the Berardo-associated organizations, including the Associaçāo Coleção Berardo, to recover value tied to loans and assets.

The effort aims to access information held by the Associaçāo de Coleções and other Berardo-linked entities, potentially involving artworks and related assets as collateral.

Banks seek to compel disclosure from a second Madeira-based Berardo association in order to unveil holdings tied to the loans, amid a broader drive to recover unpaid debts.

In 2016, Berardo restructured ownership by issuing nearly 1 million participation titles to family members, reducing control and separating voting rights from the artworks.

General assemblies of the Associaçāo Coleção Berardo later approved changes that banks say allowed Berardo to sideline banks from artwork control, a move challenged in court and linked to 2025 qualified deceit charges.

The dispute traces to a 2016 capital increase by the Berardo Collection Association that diluted shares used as collateral.

Background coverage notes the association’s purchase of hundreds of Berardo works and donation of some pieces to museums, illustrating the scale of assets involved.

Banks Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Banco Comercial Português and Novo Banco filed a Lisbon Court of Appeal suit against the Associaçāo Coleção Berardo to recover debts tied to Berardo.

At first instance, the court ruled in Berardo’s favor, setting the stage for the current appellate process over loan defaults.

The guarantees in question are participation titles rather than the artworks themselves, raising questions about collateral enforceability and potential seizure of assets.

Figures cited include 388 million euros to CGD, 397 million euros to BCP, and 241 million euros to BES/Novo Banco.

The move represents another step in the banks’ ongoing fight with Berardo and his institutions over debts tied to the art-backed network.

The lawsuit targets the Berardo Collection Association but seeks access to the assets of the Berardo Collections Association.

Banks request access to the Berardo Collections Association’s reports and accounts from 2016 onward, including detailed asset and liability information.

The core claim is reimbursement of more than one billion euros lent to Joe Berardo’s ventures, largely tied to the 2007 BCP power struggle.

The dispute traces loans to Berardo’s involvement in the 2007 BCP power struggle, with lending to his business network at the center of the case.