According to the Ministry of State (MP), the company Start Campus, accused in the Operation Influencer process, sponsors the Músicas do Mundo (FMM) festival and supports a football club in Sines in exchange for the favor of the mayor.
In the indictment, which the Lusa agency had access to, the deputy claims that the support was requested by the mayor of Sines, Nuno Mascarenhas, detained as part of the process, and accepted by the administrators of the Start campus, Afonso Salema and Ruy Oliveira Neves. and lawyer Diogo Lacerda Machado, also detained.
The company building the “data center” in Sines has donated five thousand euros to the municipality for sponsorship of FMM and an amount whose value is not determined, but exceeds 100 euros, to support the Vasco da Gama football club. de Sins, the deputy emphasizes.
According to the document, Afonso Salema, Ruy Oliveira Neves and Lacerda Machado, with the support of Vitor Escaria, also detained and then chief of staff to the prime minister, pressured the mayor “from the very beginning of the project and with greater frequency since 2022.” “.
The contacts with Nuno Mascarenhas, according to prosecutors, were aimed at putting pressure on the mayor to “ensure speedy and favorable progress, even if illegal, on the various claims pending in the Chamber regarding the interests of Start Campus.”
The order notes that the development of city planning procedures “has been subject to twists and turns and delays unfavorable to the interests of Start Campus,” prompting administrators to contact attorney Lacerda Machado and Vitor Escaria to put pressure on the mayor. .
The deputy claims that Mayor Siniša sought to “obtain illegal approval and as quickly as possible” from the municipality in the interests of Start Campus and, in turn, wanted to “achieve undue economic benefits for the city’s businesses, events and social projects.” camera”.
According to prosecutors, taking advantage of his functions, Nuno Mascarenhas also put pressure on people and organizations with competence in matters of territorial planning, such as Councilor Philip Faria and the head of the department, Maria de Fatima Matos.
Founded in 2020, Start Campus is owned by two financial industry giants: North American Davidson Kempner and British Pioneer Point Partners.
In April 2021, the company announced its intention to install a computer data “mega-centre” in Sines in a €3.5 billion project classified as a Project of National Interest (PIN).
Start Campus plans to build a total of five large buildings in Sines to house companies storing and processing large volumes of computer data, and part of the first building has already been built and has already begun to accept its first clients.
Operation “Influential Man”, launched on Tuesday by the MP, was based on at least 42 searches and led to the arrest for questioning of five people: the chief of staff of the Prime Minister Vitor Escaria, the president of the Chamber of Sines Nuno Mascarenhas, two administrators of the Start Campus company Afonso Salem and Rui Oliveira Neves, as well as lawyer Diogo Lacerda Machado, a friend of Antonio Costa.
Also indicted are Infrastructure Minister João Galamba, President of the Board of Directors of the Portuguese Environmental Protection Agency (APA) Nuno Lacaste, lawyer and former PS representative João Thiago Silveira and START — Sines Transatlantic. SA Technology Campus.
This process targets lithium exploration concessions in Montalegre and Boticas, both in Vila Real, a project for the production of energy from hydrogen in Sines, Setúbal, and the construction project of a “data center” in Industrial and Sines Logistics by Start Campus.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, we may be talking about malfeasance, active and passive corruption among political officials and influence trading.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.