According to the Ministry of State (MP), lawyer and consultant Diogo Lacerda Machado allegedly used his friendship with Prime Minister António Costa to influence decisions of the government and other organizations regarding Start Campus projects.
In addition to his friendship with the prime minister, who resigned on Tuesday after it was revealed he was the subject of an independent Supreme Court investigation into the lithium business, according to documents accessed by Lusa. , green hydrogen and the “data center.” Lacerda Machado also had a close relationship with Vitor Escaria, through whom he allegedly facilitated the access of Start Campus administrators Afonso Salema and Rui Oliveira Neves to members of the government.
Lacerda Machado, detained after the operation by the Central Investigation and Criminal Department, began working at the end of 2020 as a consultant at Pionneer Point Partners and then at Start Campus, earning about 6,500 euros per month from at least 2022. And it was through his well-known close relationship with the Prime Minister that the consultant could influence the image of António Costa among various stakeholders.
Starting in 2021, the consultant will maintain regular contacts with António Costa and Vítor Escaria, as well as with other government representatives, namely the Minister of Infrastructure João Galamba (legal defendant), the Minister of Environment Duarte Cordeiro (not the defendant) and the now former Minister of Economy Pedro Siza Vieira, so that decisions can be made in favor of the interests of this society.
According to the deputy, Vitor Escaria accepted the request of Lacerda Machado to intervene in the affairs of the government and other organizations in matters related to the partnership of Afonso Salema and Rui Oliveira Neves, who now have direct and regular access to João Galamba.
These contacts took the form of official meetings, private lunches and dinners for which the minister was paid twice, in clear violation of the government’s Code of Conduct, and in the form of Whatsapp conversations. This claim by two company administrators also extends to the chairman of the board of directors of the Portuguese Environmental Protection Agency, Nuno Lacasta, who is also a defendant.
The Prime Minister’s chief of staff also supported Lacerda Machada, Afonso Salema and Rui Oliveira Neves in pressuring Sines City Council President Nuno Mascarenhas (also detained) to speed up potentially illegal decisions by the municipality and in favor of launching campus projects.
Following these contacts, the mayor of the PS, in May of this year, committed to streamlining the procedures associated with this society, in exchange for providing undue advantages to the Chamber of Sines and financial support for the initiatives and projects of other organizations associated with the municipality, such as the Festival. Músicas do Mundo or Vasco da Gama de Sines Football Club.
The investigation, which began in 2019, centers on the construction of a data center in Sines, developed by Start Campus, the first phase of which is already close to completion.
In April 2021, the Prime Minister was present at the signing of a contract for the installation of a “data center” in a project billed as the largest foreign investment in Portugal in decades and which could amount to €3.5 billion.
The deputy’s operation, carried out with the support of the Tax Office and the PSP, was based on at least 42 searches in various locations and led to the arrests of Lacerda Machado, Vitor Escaria, Nuno Mascarenhas, Afonso Salema and Rui Oliveira Neves, with João being arrested. Galamba and Nuno Lacasta were accused. The five detainees will appear before a judge this Wednesday afternoon for their first judicial examination.
The deputy believes that there is strong evidence of crimes related to active and passive corruption of political officials, abuse of influence and malfeasance.
Ultimately, António Costa was implicated in the case, since, according to a statement from the General Prosecutor’s Office (PGR), “during the investigation it turned out (…) the suspects knew about the name and powers of the First Minister and his intervention to unblock the procedures”, hence these links “will be independently analyzed as part of the investigation launched by the Supreme Court.”
In the wake of the case, Antonio Costa announced his resignation as prime minister on Tuesday, but refused to take “any illegal or objectionable action” and expressed his full willingness to cooperate with the justice system “in whatever he deems necessary.”
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, accepted the resignation and convened the parties this Wednesday for a round of hearings at the Belém Palace in Lisbon, and will meet with the Council of State on Thursday.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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