Searches of the official residence of the Prime Minister. Lacerda Machado and Costa’s chief of staff detained

This Tuesday, the Ministry of Justice carries out searches in various ministries: the official residence of Prime Minister António Costa, the house of the Minister of Infrastructure João Galamba and the house of the former Minister of the Environment. , João Pedro Matos. We will talk about the investigation process of the hydrogen and lithium exploration business in Montalegre.

The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGR) confirms that Joao Galamba and the chairman of the board of directors of the Portuguese Environmental Agency are defendants. In the same statement, PGR said the Prime Minister was the subject of an independent investigation by the Supreme Court after “suspects became aware of the name and powers of the Prime Minister and his intervention to unblock procedures.”

17 searches were carried out at home, 5 searches at a lawyer’s office and home, 20 searches outside the home, namely in premises used by the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, and the Ministry of Infrastructure. , in the Secretariat of the State Department of Energy and Climate, in the Silves City Council, as well as in the headquarters or premises of other government agencies and companies. The PGR statement also clarified that searches of premises used by the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff are supervised by a criminal investigation judge.

The Prosecutor General’s Office confirms that 17 judges from the prosecutor’s office, three judicial magistrates, two representatives of the Bar Association, about 145 members of the PSP and nine tax authorities are taking part in the searches.

We will talk about malfeasance, active and passive corruption among political officials and influence trading. Lithium exploration concessions are currently being explored for the Romano (Montalegre) and Barroso (Boticas) mines; the project for a hydrogen energy plant in Sines, presented by a consortium that has applied for the status of an important project of common European interest (IPCEI); project for the construction of a “data center” developed in the industrial and logistics zone of Sines by the Start Campus company.

The prosecutor’s office issued arrest warrants for António Costa’s chief of staff, Vitor Escaria, the mayor of Sines, Nuno Mascarenhas, two Start Campus administrators, and a lawyer/consultant hired by the company. The detainees will be present at the first interrogation to learn about coercive measures. The newspaper Público reports that one of those detained is Diogo Lacerda Machado, known as António Costa’s “best friend.”

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, received Prime Minister António Costa at the Belém Palace in Lisbon on Tuesday morning at his request, a source in the Presidency of the Republic told Lusa. The meeting has already ended.

The Ministry of Environment confirmed PSP searches at sites
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Action confirmed that PSP searches were carried out at its sites.

However, official source in the ministry Duarte Cordeiro said that he does not yet know the reason for the searches.

Sines City Council is the subject of a police investigation
The city council of Sines, Setubal, is investigating the police, who are located inside the building, while officers are outside, a source in the municipality said.

“Authorities are conducting investigations inside the council building while all staff are outside,” he said.

São Bento confirms search of Prime Minister’s chief of staff and does not comment on lawsuits
The Prime Minister’s press service confirmed the presence of searches in the office of Vitor Escaria, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, adding that there were no comments from São Bento regarding the judge’s actions.

“We confirm that searches are taking place in the office of the head of the administration. [Vítor Escária]. We do not comment on legal actions,” a source working for António Costa told Lusa.