Operation Influencer

Operation Influencer (Portuguese: Operação Influencer) is an ongoing investigation initiated by Portugal's Public Prosecution Service, probing potential corruption within deals that involved members of the Portuguese government during António Costa's premiership.[1][2][3] The investigation focuses on alleged instances of active and passive corruption and malfeasance regarding four specific deals: two concessions for lithium mines in northern Portugal, a project for a green hydrogen production plant in Sines, and a project for a data centre, also located in Sines.[4]

On 7 November 2023, the Public Prosecution Service issued a statement announcing a search, seizure and arrest operation in 42 locations, which included the office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Action, and the Ministry of Infrastructure.[4][5] The statement Five people were apprehended, including the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Vítor Escária, and the Mayor of Sines, Nuno Mascarenhas.[6] The Minister of Infrastructure João Galamba was named a formal suspect (arguido) and Prime Minister António Costa became the subject of a separate inquiry by the country's Supreme Court of Justice.[6]

The announcement of the operation led to the resignations of Costa and Galamba, and the fall of the XXIII Constitutional Government of Portugal.[6][7] It was the first time that the Portuguese government was brought down by a criminal investigation.[8] The investigation has since attracted criticism after the prosecutors admitted several mistakes, including confusion between the names of António Costa and then Minister of Economy António Costa Silva in the transcript of a wiretap.[9][10][11]

  1. ^ "Conversas de Costa com principais suspeitos 'apanhadas' em escutas". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 8 November 2023. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Operação Influencer: há mais um nome na lista de arguidos". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 9 November 2023. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Operação Influencer: quem são os nove suspeitos na mira do Ministério Público e que ligações têm entre eles?". Expresso (in Portuguese). 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b Goncalves, Sergio (7 November 2023). "FACTBOX Deals targeted in corruption probe that led Portugal PM to step down". Reuters. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Buscas e detenções". Departamento Central de Investigação e Ação Penal (in Portuguese). 7 November 2023. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Demony, Catarina; Khalip, Andrei (7 November 2023). "Portuguese PM steps down amid lithium, hydrogen corruption probe". Reuters. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  7. ^ "João Galamba já não é ministro das Infraestruturas". Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (in Portuguese). 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  8. ^ "What went wrong with the investigation that toppled Portugal's PM?". euronews. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Portuguese prosecutors reportedly mistranscribed wiretaps that implicated PM in corruption scandal". euronews. 12 November 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Ministério Público troca Costa e Costa Silva na transcrição das escutas". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Operação Influencer: Ministério Público engana-se pela terceira vez em despacho". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 16 November 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2024.