The Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) said this Tuesday, December 9th, that he expects the preventive investigation into the Spinumviva case, a company owned by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s family, to be completed by the start of the Christmas judicial holidays, on December 22nd.
“I hope it’s before the holidays [judiciais]”, said Amadeu Guerra when asked about a prediction for the outcome of the preventive investigation in the Spinumviva case, on the sidelines of an event at a school in Loures to mark International Day Against Corruption.
The PGR also regretted that the documents requested in this context from Spinumviva and its clients were not “delivered as quickly” as the Public Prosecutor’s Office intended.
Regarding Operation Influencer, the Attorney General of the Republic said he had no agenda, reiterating that he was not satisfied with the disclosure of the content of wiretaps involving former Prime Minister António Costa.
“I’m not satisfied with situations like these. I don’t have agendas, as it is sometimes said that the Public Prosecutor’s Office launches wiretaps or releases evidence… I don’t have agendas”said Amadeu Guerra.
Complaining that the statements it makes, including through statements, are “often misinterpreted”, the PGR lamented that it is “the order of the day to criticize the attorney general and the Public Ministry”.
“I’m not satisfied with that. Why? Because I do serious work. I became attorney general because I thought I could still provide a good service to the country, just for that reason. It’s not a career prize”he maintained.
On December 3, Sábado magazine published a news story summarizing the transcripts of wiretaps involving António Costa in Operation Influencer.
On the same day, the Attorney General’s Office clarified, in a statement, that not all investigations in this case have internal judicial secrecy, which allowed the defendants access to the files “several times”, and announced that the Public Ministry would make a “criminal report for the content” then reported.
“Contrary to what I’ve heard, We don’t blame others, we don’t blame anyone. We accept our guilt”, added Amadeu Guerra this Tuesdayhighlighting that criminal participation aims to investigate “all people and check if it is possible” to know “who provided the information” to the journalist who wrote the Saturday news with the summary of the wiretaps.
On November 7, 2023, five people were arrested and later released as part of Operation Influencer, including António Costa’s then chief of staff.
At issue are suspected crimes in the construction of a data center in Sines, district of Setúbal, in the exploration of lithium in Montalegre and Boticas, both in the district of Vila Real, and in the production of energy from hydrogen also in Sines.
The case led to the fall of the Government of António Costa (PS), with the now president of the European Council being considered a suspect, without being charged.