Former prime minister António Costa was heard by the Public Prosecutor's Office on Friday, as part of Operation Influencer. Costa was heard at his request by the Central Department of Criminal Investigation and Prosecution (DCIAP), reports Expresso, six months after the Attorney General's Office announced that he was a suspect in Operation Influencer, which led him to resign from his post as prime minister on November 7, 2023.

The former head of government was not heard as a defendant, and the hearing was framed by an article of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CPP) which provides for the situation of people considered suspects, as is the case with António Costa.

Paragraph 14 of Article 86 of the CPP states that "if, through the public clarifications provided under the terms of the previous paragraphs, it is confirmed that the person publicly accused assumes the status of suspect, this person has the right to be heard in the proceedings, at their request, within a reasonable period, which should not exceed three months, safeguarding the interests of the investigation".

In the same document, in paragraph 13, it states that "the secrecy of justice does not prevent the provision of public clarifications by the judicial authority, when they are necessary to restore the truth and do not harm the investigation: a) At the request of persons publicly accused […]".

At the same time, Expresso cites paragraph 9 of the same article 86, which states that the judicial authority "may, with justification, give or order or allow certain persons to be informed of the content of an act or document in secret of justice, if this does not compromise the investigation" and if it appears "convenient to clarify the truth" or "indispensable for the exercise of rights by the interested parties".

The inquiry, led by prosecutor Rita Madeira, coordinator of the corruption section at DCIAP, lasted an hour and a half and the former prime minister answered all the magistrate's questions, found, for its part, the Observador.

António Costa announced, in April, that he had ordered the submission of a request to the Public Prosecutor's Office, to be heard "as quickly as possible". The document was formally submitted on April 2. However, the MP decided not to wait for the end of the deadline referred to by the CPP in these situations.

Lawyers for the former prime minister have since told Lusa that Costa "provided all the clarifications requested by the Public Prosecutor's Office, and was not constituted as a defendant" and "remains, as until now, fully available to collaborate in everything that the Public Prosecutor's Office deems necessary".

"Dr. António Costa was heard today as a declarant, following the request he submitted on April 2, 2024", they also said.

The former Minister of Infrastructure, João Galamba, who was constituted as a defendant, also asked to be heard in this investigation, the day after he was the target of house searches. However, so far, he has not received any response from the DCIAP.

The previous legislature was interrupted following the resignation of Prime Minister António Costa (PS), after it was made public that he was the target of a judicial inquiry instituted by the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Supreme Court of Justice from the so-called Operation Influencer.

This judicial process is related to the production of energy from hydrogen in Sines, Setúbal, and to the project to build a data center in the industrial and logistics zone of Sines by Start Campus.

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, immediately accepted the prime minister's resignation and two days later announced to the country the dissolution of parliament and the calling of elections, which were held on March 10, giving the majority to the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM.

[News updated at 19:56]

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