The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) acknowledged today that seven wiretaps involving the former Prime Minister were identified and not reported to the Supreme Court “for various technical reasons”.
In a statement released today, the PGR explained that during a recent review of all wiretaps conducted as part of Operation Influencer, seven intercepts were identified that included former Prime Minister António Costa. These were not initially detected due to “various technical reasons”.
The Minister of Justice, when asked about this issue today, refused to comment, asserting only that the Attorney General will “take necessary measures” should any irregularities be found. Rita Alarcão Júdice stated she does not comment on specific cases, emphasizing the need to “trust in institutions, and institutions also need to deserve that respect and trust”.
The PGR reiterated: António Costa was not a direct target of the wiretaps. Of the seven wiretaps, six were attempts to contact, the PGR stated in the same communication, underscoring that “all phone taps conducted in these processes [Operation Influencer], without exception, were promptly presented for regular review to the Investigating Judge of the Central Criminal Investigation Court”.
The seven wiretaps in question were “immediately brought to the attention of the President of the Supreme Court, via the investigating judge of the Central Criminal Investigation Court”, with the President of the Supreme Court noting in an order that he was “no longer competent for such knowledge since António Costa is no longer Prime Minister”.
The Attorney General’s Office also emphasized that António Costa was never a direct target of wiretaps or surveillances – neither while serving as Prime Minister nor after leaving the government.
Incidentally, during wiretaps related to other individuals, communications were detected involving former Prime Minister António Costa, clarified the PGR, adding that these wiretaps were always known to the President of the Supreme Court.
Former Prime Minister wiretapped 22 times. The PGR’s reaction follows a report by Diário de Notícias claiming that former Prime Minister António Costa was wiretapped 22 times without the knowledge of higher courts, involving conversations with suspects of Operation Influencer.
The investigation conducted under the Department of Central Investigation and Penal Action (DCIAP) allegedly omitted the wiretaps to the Supreme Court and the Central Criminal Investigation Court.
The wiretaps reportedly occurred between 2020 and 2022 and the contacts involved João Galamba, then Deputy Secretary of State and for Energy, and Secretary of State for Environmental and Energy, Lacerda Machado, a friend and former government consultant on the privatization of TAP, and João Pedro Matos Fernandes, then Minister of Environment and Climate Action, according to Diário de Notícias.
Operation Influencer divided into three inquiries. The process of Operation Influencer was split into three inquiries by decision of the then Attorney General, Lucília Gago, who decided to consolidate in one inquiry the data related to the Sines data center, in a second inquiry the lithium exploration concessions in Montalegre and Boticas, and in a third the hydrogen production plant project in Sines.
The current Attorney General, Amadeu Guerra, stated on November 7 that the process had an appeal pending in the Lisbon Court of Appeal regarding access to information in emails seized from lawyers, unaware that the appeal had already been decided, favoring the defendants and leaving the Public Prosecutor’s Office without access to those emails.
On November 7, 2023, five people, including Costa’s then Chief of Staff, Vítor Escária, were detained and later released as part of Operation Influencer.
There are suspicions of crime in the construction of a data center in Sines, Setúbal district, lithium exploration in Montalegre and Boticas, both in the Vila Real district, and hydrogen energy production, also in Sines.
The case led to the fall of the Government of the absolute majority of the current President of the European Council.
[News updated at 13:16]
