A vast sweep of the net. Searches were carried out in Portugal in several ministries and in the official residence of the Prime Minister as part of a corruption investigation, according to Portuguese media.
“We confirm searches in the office of the chief of staff” of Prime Minister Antonio Costa “but we do not comment on the action of justice,” indicated the press service of the head of the socialist government to the Lusa agency.
The head of state, the conservative Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, spoke briefly with Antonio Costa, said a spokesperson for the president, also quoted by Lusa.
Suspicions of influence peddling in contracts linked to green hydrogen
According to national media, these operations are part of an investigation relating in particular to suspicions of influence peddling and corruption in contracts linked to green hydrogen and lithium mining, a metal used for the manufacture of batteries and essential to the energy transition.
The searches, which mobilized some 140 police officers, also concerned the Ministry of Environment and Infrastructure, according to the daily Publico. The Minister of Infrastructure has also been indicted. The Ministry of the Environment also confirmed these searches, specifying however that it did not know the reasons.