Early on Tuesday morning local time in Portugal, a large number of law enforcement officers swarmed into facilities including the Prime Minister’s official residence and multiple government departments to conduct raids. A few hours later,Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced his resignation in a nationally televised speech.
Affected by this news, Portugal’s PSI20 index weakened significantly in the afternoon, eventually closing down 2.5%.
According to a statement released by the Portuguese Attorney General’s Office,A total of 43 government facilities and residences were searched that morning, and arrest warrants were issued for the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Vítor Escária, Sines Mayor Nuno Mascarenhas and three businessmen.At the same time, due to the identity of the leader of Costa Country, the Portuguese High Court will launch an investigation into his criminal suspicion.
The prosecutor also stated that Portugal’s Infrastructure Minister Joao Galamba and the head of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) Nuno Lacasta were listed as “formal suspects” and will appear in court for questioning by a judge.
As the situation became clear, Costa quickly met with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and announced his resignation.
Costa said in a televised speech that the dignity of the prime minister’s duties could not tolerate any suspicion of criminal behavior and that he had submitted his resignation to the president.Costa also stressed that “there is nothing illegal in conscience” and expressed “trust in the justice system.”
According to Portuguese law, the president will decide whether to dissolve parliament directly and hold an election, or to nominate a new prime minister. Costa will remain as caretaker prime minister until a new prime minister is in place. Costa also said on Tuesday that he would not seek to serve as prime minister again and that this phase of his life was “over.”
Involving multiple business projects
Regarding the five people who have been detained, the Portuguese Prosecutor’s Office stated that it is investigatingCorruption and political influence dealings involved in Barroso and Monatelgre lithium exploration licenses in northern Portugalalso under investigation areHydrogen energy plant and large data center project in Sines。
Prosecutors said the suspects used “Costa’s name” and authority to “solve” proceedings related to the transactions. The Supreme Court will investigate Costa’s role in the transactions. He may be implicated in the facts of malfeasance, active and passive corruption of politicians, and influence peddling.
It is worth mentioning that among the businessmen arrested on Tuesday was former Portuguese aviation manager Diogo Lacerda Machado, who testified before the Portuguese Parliament in May this year that he was a good friend of the prime minister.
Speaking on Tuesday, Costa expressed surprise at what happened today. He also said he didn’t know exactly what he was being charged with, but that he was “willing to cooperate” with the court.
After Costa’s speech,The Portuguese President’s Office confirmed that it accepted Costa’s resignation and will convene party leaders and the Council of State to meet at the Belém Palace on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a national address.
Costa was elected Prime Minister of Portugal in 2015 and was re-elected in the 2019 and 2022 elections. However, since 2022, the Costa government has been continuously hit by scandals. According to statistics, 10 government ministers or senior officials have resigned due to negligence or corruption charges.
(Source of article: Financial Associated Press)
Source of article: Financial Associated Press
Original title: Portugal’s Prime Minister unexpectedly resigns after being accused of corruption in lithium mining and hydrogen energy projects
Solemnly declare:Oriental Fortune publishes this content to disseminate more information. It has nothing to do with the position of this site and does not constitute investment advice. Operate accordingly at your own risk.
#Portugals #Prime #Minister #unexpectedly #resigns #accused #corruption #lithium #mining #hydrogen #energy #projects
2023-11-07 22:04:06
