Law enforcement officers conducted 40 searches.
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, who led the country's government since 2015, resigned from his post due to a corruption scandal surrounding the concession of two lithium deposits.
Publico reports this.
The corruption scandal was preceded by the detention of two people from his inner circle – the chief of staff of Vitor Escaria and a close friend of businessman Diogo Lacerda Machado.
According to the country's Prosecutor General's Office, Costa became the subject of a separate investigation by the Supreme Court over his role in lobbying businesses related to the energy transition.
Detention operation
Law enforcement officers conducted 40 searches, including at the official residence of the Prime Minister in the São Benta Palace, the ministries of infrastructure and environment, Sines City Hall, etc.
Police detained the mayor of Sines, Nuno Mascarenhas, and two businessmen from the Start Campus company, which was promoting a hydrogen project in Sines.
After the searches and arrests, Costo urgently canceled his plans and went to a meeting with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
After the meeting, Costo announced his resignation, but said his conscience was clear.
“I am not going to re-apply for the position of prime minister, this stage of my life is over,” he said.
The publication adds that the investigation began in 2019. The impetus was an anonymous complaint. Law enforcement officers had to determine whether the country's government granted privileges to Portuguese companies EDP, Galp and REN to produce green hydrogen in Sines. The project was first introduced by a businessman from the Netherlands, but then the government publicly attracted local companies to it.
The production relates to a permit granted to British company Savannah Lithium to mine lithium at a site designated as an FAO World Agricultural Heritage Site.
Let us remind you that a new corruption scandal has broken out in the capital of Ukraine. Officials of the Kyiv education department wanted to make money on biotoilets for shelters. Read more in the TSN.ua article.
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