Almegue project
How it all began …
The start of the Almegue Project
In 1996 the Irish companies Transes Investments Ltd. and Transes International Ltd., both already working on a large tourist project in Castelo de Vide, started with the development of the Almegue project, after its general director, Drs Jan van Es, signed a protocol/contract with the Camara of Serta.
In accordance with the contract the companies build a number of chalets in this project in development, with the explicit approval of the Camara of Serta. Some of them were sold to promised buyers via a “contracto promessa de compra e venda” ; with legal delivery by Transes Investments Ltd to the promised owner at the moment of the final project approval.
Fidelidade agreed in 1997 to insure all chalets (about 350) to be build in the Almegue project from the start of its construction on – a large business deal for Fidelidade.
Urbanization Plan and Project approved by the Assembleia Municipal of Serta in 1999.
All these chalets, located in condominium 1 of the project plan, were build in the in February 1999 by the Assembleia Municipal of Serta approved urbanization plan and its related Almegue project for 350 houses in 5 condominia. Condominium 1 is still an approved project.
After that, the Almegue project was taken over in 1999 by similar companies founded in Luxembourg, Transes Holding SA, Transes International SA and Transes Investments SA – together the Transes Group – in order to facilitate the project financing.
In 2000 Transes International SA was holding all the insurance contracts (19) for the legal owner of the Almegue project, Transes Investment SA, (lands and chalets in the conselho of Serta at the shores of the Castelo de Bode lake). In 2005 the ownership changed to Jan van ES, the present legal owner.
Picture 1 Recreation at the Albufeira Castelo de Bode in front of the Almegue project
The first malicious and illegal actions of Fidelidade SA
In 2001/2002 Fidelidade canceled illegally and secretly, on the basis of falsified cancellation cards (made by a group of 11 promised buyers) the insurance contracts hold by Transes International SA for chalets built in the Almegue project.
At the same time Fidelidade provided secretly, and against the will of the Transes companies, similar insurance contracts to the 11 promised buyers on the same properties, legally owned by Transes Investments SA, and refused to restore the previous situation.
For that reason, Transes International SA put Fidelidade in 2004 in the Santarem court (proc. 2270/04.6TBSTR).
At the same time all promised contracts were legally resolved in January 2004 after the promised buyers, not satisfied with the lengthy ratification procedure of the Portuguese Government, started a legal process in the court of Breda, the Netherlands, in order to get ownership of the project and to bankrupt the Transes Group via requested high penalties; a process, after an appeal, they lost in 2006.
Development of the Almegue Project for the first time blocked in 2004.
However, the group of promised buyers refused to return the chalets to the Transes companies after the legal termination of the contracts in January 2004, as obliged by the law, creating large financial damages as it blocked the further development of the Almegue project.
It was followed by a legal case in the court of Lisbon. In 2015, after 11 years, the court ruled in a sentence that the previous promised contracts were invalid, resulting in insurance contracts becoming null and void in accordance with article 428 -lid 1 of the Portuguese insurance law.
Picture 2. The Almegue project in 2017 with chalets and infrastructures before the wildfire in 2017
It was just before the wildfire and waiting for the restart of the construction based on a new project plan, ready to submit to the Camara of Serta for getting a construction license.
Up to 2016 it was blocked by the previous promised buyers, as they refused since January 2004 to return their chalets, legally obliged by the law after a legal resolution of the promised contract. After the sentence of the Lisbon court in 2014/2015, the chalets should have returned to the owner. If that happened is not clear, as the previous promised buyers continued with the payment of their own insurance premiums until the wildfire, and claimed the damage to Fidelidade SA.
Estimated damage: 7.5 million Euro.
But that is not all. The actual loss caused by the previous promised buyers is at least 2.8 million euro larger, as basicaly they are responsible for the cancellation of the insurance contracts in 2001 – 2003.
The Santarem court case (2004-2015) – process nr 2270/04.6TBSTR
As Fidelidade refused to restore the illegally canceled insurance contracts of Transes International SA and to cancel the new insurance contracts made with the promised buyers on the chalets, legally owned by Transes Investments SA, Transes International SA as holder of all insurance contracts put Fidelidade in 2004 in the court of Santarem.
This Santarem legal court process is quite important for the present process Fidelidade started in the Castelo Branco court. Not only for the importance of the sentence – restoration of the insurance polices – but also for the by the court established proven facts who are equally valid for this new Fidelidade court case.
Therefore, this Santarem court case is an integral part of this new legal process with Fidelidade, and in many ways a continuation of this previous legal process with important common elements and issues; not in the last place the repetition of dubious activities of Fidelidade.
Its proven facts and the resulting court sentence are contradicting the unfounded statements made in related legal processes after that, as stated below:
- The illegal acts committed by Fidelidade so far- ma-fe
- The status of the Almegue project in development,
- The contract with the Camara of Serta,
- The approval of the project by the Assembleia Municipal of Serta
- The ownership of the project and the build chalets of Transes Investments SA,
- Transes International SA being the holder of the insurance contracts for the properties belonging to Transes Investments SA (up to 2005),
- The insurance contracts belonging to Transes International SA and canceled by FIdelidade
- The insurance contracts of Fidelidade signed with the promised buyers, substituting the contracts of Transes International SA.
- The double insurance problem of 2002! (repeating this process issue in Castelo Branco)
- Payment by Fidelidade for the damage of the destruction of two houses in Almegue caused by a forest fire in 2002, a similar situation of double insurance contracts for the same property.
All needed to contradict Fidelidade today, who tries now with false and unfounded statements, ignoring this legal process in Santarem, and to discredit the Transes companies, and its previous CEO, Drs Jan van Es, who played important roles in the Santarem process and the Almegue project, in a land use plan approved by the POACB; And that all, just to avoid its contractual payment obligations.
Even now in 2019, in the new legal process in the court of Castelo Branco Fidelidade is re-using the lack of premium payments argument as reason for the contract cancellations in 2001/2002. A lie and Completly false!
Fidelidade in contempt of the court and more malicious acts
Fidelidade refused, in contempt of the Santarem court, to restore in 2015 the 7 insurance contracts ordered by the sentence in 2015. Under legal pressure it only happened in February 2018, after the chalets were already destroyed by the wildfire of June 2017.
More research showed that the original insurance contracts have not been restored in 2018 as ordered by the Santarem court, but simple replaced by new contracts (numbers) without any reference to the original insured objects or contract conditions. These new contracts are used by Fidelidade in the Castelo Branco process. Another illegality!
De facto the present court case started by Fidelidade in 2019 is nothing more than a continuation of the Santarem court case. Fidelidade refused to execute the sentence to restore the previous illegally canceled insurance contracts, and the court case did not finish.
It was followed by the wildfire in June 2017, destroying the Almegue project without the restored insurance contracts for 5 houses, but with the full legal responsibility of Fidelidade SA to pay the caused damage. That situation went on for 6 month until Fidelidade SA finally under legal pressure restored the insurance contracts and started with violating the general conditions (also restored by the Santarem sentence).
Transes International paid all the insurance premiums from 2002 on, until 2018, but the usual annual policy sheets, as proof of the insurance, were never received, leaving the legal question if the insurance contracts were really restored as ordered by the Santarem court.
Consequently, the insured capital values, determined in 1997/1998 with the start of the insurances, could, after the Santarem sentence, not be increased in accordance with the increase in the construction costs of about 25 years. An increase of at least 35 to 40% (INE source)
Moreover, the insurance contracts could not be transferred to the new owner, Jan van Es; all refused by Fidelidade in 2018 and all not made possible and blocked by Fidelidade in violation with the General Conditions, in particular with art. 15.