The report said the deputy’s interpretation of the Operation Influencer wiretaps was not provable.

The Lisbon report found no evidence “neither strong nor weak” of influence-peddling offenses under Operation Influence, given that prosecutors’ interpretations of wiretaps “have no probative value.”

“(…) the interpretations that the Prosecutor’s Office (MP) makes from the successive telephone conversations it has wiretapped over many years are based on mere statements not realized in the objective circumstances of time, manner or place,” it says. This is stated in a ruling published today by the Lisbon Court of Appeal (TRL) regarding appeals against enforcement measures under the so-called Operation Influencer.

With regard to TRL, the legislator’s interpretations do not allow for the “removal of other unknown, but quite reliable or highly probable facts” demonstrating the request or acceptance of an advantage, abuse of influence or the purpose of obtaining a favorable decision from a public entity, at least which “do not go beyond the scope of simple interpretations , which bind only the deputy himself.”

“They have no capacity as a principle of proof, and even more so they have no place in the request for the delivery of detained accused for the first judicial interrogation (…) to justify the use of any coercive measure. Thus, there is neither strong nor weak evidence of the commission of a crime (…) Regarding crimes related to influence peddling, the appeal filed by the deputy is rejected, and the appeals filed by the accused Vitor. Manuel Alvarez Escaria and Diogo Campos Barradas de Lacerda Machado deserve to be accepted,” the decision reads.

The panel of TRL judges, chaired by Judge Cristina Almeida e Souza, regarding the findings of the defendant Afonso Salema (the administrator of the company Start Campus, the defendant in the proceedings, as well as the company itself), which are contained in his response to the statement of the deputy, the appeal recognizes that the reliability of the evidence obtained by the PSP in during the investigation may be called into question.

In the ruling, the judges emphasize that “the decision-making actions of the deputy cannot be appealed,” referring to the deputy’s decision to opt for the assistance of the Public Security Police (PSP) rather than the Judicial Police (PJ). ), during investigation within the framework of the process.

In response to the MP’s appeal, Afonso Salema’s defense argued that the transfer of the proceedings to the PSP was illegal, stressing that the investigation of crimes such as corruption and influence peddling are the sole responsibility of the PJ.

“It may ultimately be possible to discuss in the first place the validity of the evidence that can be obtained by the PSP if the division of powers defined by the Criminal Investigation Organization Act is not respected, depending on the different nature of the crimes,” the list says, explaining that the MP’s decision to involve to PSP’s investigation, rather than PJ’s, is not considered in the appeal, which concerns only enforcement actions.

This Wednesday, TRL rejected the MP’s appeal through the Operation Influencer process and decided that the defendants will continue to have their TIR valid.

The work of the previous legislature was interrupted after the resignation of António Costa, after it was revealed that he was the subject of an investigation launched into the parliament by the Supreme Court after receiving a certificate in the criminal case of Operation Influencer.

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, accepted the resignation and two days later announced to the country the dissolution of parliament and the calling of elections, which took place on March 10, giving the majority to the PSD/SDS-PP/. PPM.

Operation Influential Man at the time led to the arrest of Vitor Escaria (Chief of Staff to António Costa), Diogo Lacerda Machado (consultant and friend of António Costa), Start Campus administrators Afonso Salema and Rui Oliveira Neves, as well as Chamber of Sines President Nuno Mascarenhas, who were released after judicial questioning.

There are other defendants, including the now former Minister of Infrastructure João Galamba, the former President of the Portuguese Environmental Agency Nuno Lacasta, the former PS representative João Thiago Silveira and Start Campus.

The case relates to the production of energy from hydrogen in Sines, Setubal, and the project to build a data center (Data Center) in the industrial and logistics region of Sines by Start Campus.

Also at stake are lithium exploration in Montalegre and Boticas (both Vila Real districts), energy production from hydrogen in Sines, Setúbal, and a data center project in Sines by Start Campus.