Portugal’s former Prime Minister António Costa was reportedly intercepted in wiretaps 22 times without the knowledge of the higher courts, according to recent reports. These communications occurred with suspects involved in Operation Influencer, as clarified in a statement by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
The PGR confirmed that seven wiretaps involving Costa were identified but were not communicated to the Supreme Court of Justice due to “various technical reasons.” The office emphasized that António Costa was never directly targeted by wiretaps or surveillance, neither during nor after his tenure as Prime Minister. It added that “all phone taps conducted within these processes [Operation Influencer], without exception, were routinely subjected to periodic review by the Investigative Judge of the Central Criminal Investigation Court (TCIC).”
Presidential candidate Luís Marques Mendes emphasized the distinction between the initial report and the clarification provided by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, stating that it “changes everything that had been said in the previous hours.”
“The clarification from the Public Prosecutor’s Office is unequivocal. The former Prime Minister was never directly wiretapped but was caught in conversations with targeted individuals. This is a completely different matter,” Mendes highlighted.
“Furthermore, all was subsequently validated by a judge,” he said, asserting that, in light of this clarification, “all matters were handled according to the law.”
“Based on the statement, it seems everything is clarified. If anyone claims the statement is incorrect, we will have to see. Viewing the official communiqué from the Public Prosecutor, everything is clear to me,” he added.
The PGR noted that “incidentally, within wiretaps conducted on other individuals, communications involving Prime Minister António Costa were identified,” assuring that these interceptions were always reported to the President of the Supreme Court of Justice.
On November 7, 2023, five individuals, including Costa’s then-chief of staff Vítor Escária, were detained and later released in the scope of Operation Influencer. Suspicion of criminal activity revolves around the construction of a data center in Sines, exploitation of lithium in Montalegre and Boticas, and hydrogen energy production, also in Sines.
This investigation led to the resignation of Costa from the majority PS government, shortly after a PGR announcement disclosed he was subject to an inquiry by the Supreme Court stemming from the investigation.
