The defense of lawyer and consultant Diogo Lacerda Machado confirmed this Wednesday that he will appeal the coercive measures taken against a friend of Prime Minister António Costa as part of the Operation Influential Man process.
Lawyer Manuel Magalhães e Silva, contacted by Luza, confirmed that he would appeal but declined to comment further on the case.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for Diogo Lacerda Machado told Lusa that he was still “considering” filing an appeal, keeping in mind that there is a 30-day deadline for filing an appeal.
Diogo Lacerda Machado was subject to a ban on traveling abroad (with the obligation to surrender his passport to the court) and bail in the amount of 150 thousand euros.
The Central Criminal Court (TCIC) considered that the consultant faced a serious charge of influence peddling, but did not understand that the signs of active corruption and malfeasance pointed out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PP) were strong enough.
In the court ruling, the TCIC judge emphasized that “the danger of flight on the part of the accused Diogo Lacerda Machado is great and imminent,” alluding to the fact that his children live abroad, as well as his professional ties to Guinea-Bissau. T
The MP also announced on Monday his decision to appeal the decision to apply coercive measures to the Lisbon Court of Appeal.
The coercive measures did not advance the lawmaker, who asked for preventive detention for a consultant, as well as for the former chief of staff of the prime minister, Vitor Escaria, whose defense already confirmed on Tuesday that he will appeal the coercive measure banning him from leaving the country. country (with the obligation to surrender your passport).
This investigation became public after an operation carried out by the deputy on November 7, during which 42 searches were carried out and as a result five people were arrested: Vítor Escaria, Diogo Lacerda Machado, Start Campus administrators Afonso Salema and Rui Oliveira Neves, and Mayor Siniça Nuno Mascarenhas.
In total, there are nine defendants in the case, including former Minister of Infrastructure João Galamba, President of the Portuguese Environmental Agency Nuno Lacasta, lawyer, former Minister of Justice and former PS representative João Thiago Silveira and the company Start Campus.
The process is linked to lithium exploration in Montalegre and Boticas (both districts of Vila Real), to the production of energy from hydrogen in Sines, Setúbal, and to the Start Campus project for the construction of a Data Center in the industrial and logistics zone of Sines.
Prime Minister António Costa, who appears to have been involved in the matter, was the subject of an investigation launched by a member of the Supreme Court, a situation that forced him to resign and the President of the Republic to call early elections to the Supreme Court. March 10, 2024
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.