Suspended Altice executive leaves Drahi's telecom empire

Alexandre Fonseca, the former co-chief executive officer of Altice, is leaving the company six months after Portuguese prosecutors opened a corruption investigation into individuals connected to the telecommunications group.

The 49-year-old, who ran the group's Portuguese unit when the alleged acts of corruption, money laundering and tax fraud took place, has not been named as a suspect by prosecutors and has denied any wrongdoing. 

"Altice group and I have reached an agreement that puts an end to a relationship of more than a decade," Fonseca said in a LinkedIn post on Thursday.

Zed Jameson/Bloomberg

Fonseca's departure comes as Altice, owned by French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi, races to sell assets and cut its $60 billion debt pile. That effort has been hampered by the corruption probe, which ensnared Drahi's co-founder Armando Pereira and led to the termination of more than a dozen employees.

Altice Portugal is up for sale, with Saudi Telecom Co. among the potential buyers, Bloomberg reported last month. Altice France sold a majority stake in its data center portfolio to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners in November, having hoped to sell the asset by the end of the summer.

Fonseca, who was also chairman of Altice's units in the U.S. and Portugal, has been on leave since July, when the probe was announced. At the time he said he was temporarily stepping down to "fully protect and safeguard" the company. 

Altice Portugal confirmed Fonseca's departure in an emailed statement. 

Fonseca, a computer engineer who refused to wear a tie, was widely considered a rising star at Altice — an outgoing, hands-on executive whose strong technical and communication skills earned him the trust of Drahi and Pereira.

Pereira was detained last year and later released on a €10 million ($11 million) bail as part of the Portuguese investigation.