We'll discuss this later, not over the phone.
In Lisbon, the quiet machinery of justice has turned its attention toward a former head of government, not through dramatic accusation but through the patient accumulation of intercepted words — conversations António Costa never knew were being preserved. More than twenty wiretaps, captured across three years, now form the evidentiary spine of an autonomous investigation into whether billion-euro energy projects were steered by friendship rather than merit. The case asks an ancient question about power: where does legitimate influence end and the corruption of public trust begin.
- Over twenty intercepted calls place former Prime Minister Costa at the center of a web connecting government ministers, a close personal friend, and executives from companies seeking state approvals worth more than a billion euros.
- When his environment minister raised administrative questions about lithium and hydrogen projects, Costa's recorded response — let's not discuss this over the phone — struck investigators as a deliberate effort to keep decisions off the record.
- Police raids on Costa's official residence and arrests of his chief of staff, infrastructure minister, and private consultant sent shockwaves through Portuguese politics, forcing the prime minister's resignation within days.
- Prosecutors believe consultant Diogo Lacerda Machado was strategically positioned to exploit his friendship with Costa, pressuring agencies and local officials to fast-track approvals for mines, a hydrogen facility, and a data center.
- The investigation now enters an autonomous phase with Costa as a formal subject of inquiry, the wiretaps standing as a documentary record of a pattern investigators describe as systematic and deliberate.
In November, Portuguese prosecutors formalized a separate investigation into former Prime Minister António Costa, anchored by more than twenty intercepted phone calls spanning from late 2020 to the present. Costa had not been the direct target of surveillance — the recordings captured him because he was speaking with people who were already being monitored. Those conversations, prosecutors argue, reveal a coordinated effort to manipulate government decisions on energy projects valued at over one billion euros.
The calls connected Costa to his chief of staff Vítor Escária, former environment minister João Matos Fernandes, infrastructure minister João Galamba, and close personal friend Diogo Lacerda Machado. In one exchange, when Matos Fernandes raised questions about administrative procedures tied to lithium and hydrogen projects, Costa's response was pointed: they would speak about it later, not over the phone. Investigators read these careful deferrals as evidence of a deliberate effort to route sensitive decisions through channels that would leave no trace.
The investigation had burst into public view when police searched Costa's official residence and detained figures from both government and the private sector. The raids prompted Costa's resignation, but prosecutors pressed on. They believed Machado — a consultant to investment funds backing the renewable energy company Start Campus — had been deliberately placed to leverage his relationship with the prime minister, pushing agencies and local officials to accelerate approvals for lithium concessions, a hydrogen facility in Sines, and a major data center project.
Suspicious meetings had taken place at the prime minister's residence, in company offices, and at restaurants where executives picked up the bill for attending officials. Costa denied any knowledge of the recordings and rejected wrongdoing. Two calls — one with the president, one with the parliament speaker — were set aside as irrelevant. The rest remained, forming what prosecutors describe as a systematic record of personal relationships being used to circumvent the ordinary processes of public administration.
On a Tuesday morning in November, Portuguese prosecutors moved to formally investigate former Prime Minister António Costa in a separate proceeding, armed with evidence that would reshape the political landscape. At the center of their case sat more than twenty intercepted phone calls—conversations Costa had not made directly, but in which he appeared because he was speaking with people already under surveillance. These recordings, captured between November 2020 and the present year, now form one of the investigation's primary pillars of proof.
The calls connected Costa to the heart of what prosecutors believe was a coordinated effort to manipulate government decisions on energy projects worth over a billion euros. He spoke with Vítor Escária, his chief of staff. He spoke with João Matos Fernandes, the former environment minister. He spoke with João Galamba, the current infrastructure minister. And he spoke with Diogo Lacerda Machado, described as a close personal friend. In one recorded moment, when Matos Fernandes pressed Costa about administrative procedures related to lithium and hydrogen projects, Costa's response was sharp and deliberate: they would discuss it later, not over the phone. To investigators, these careful deferrals suggested something darker—a pattern of information being shared through channels designed to leave no trace.
The investigation had erupted into public view on a Tuesday morning when police descended on Costa's official residence, executing searches and making arrests. The operation targeted figures across government and the private sector: Escária, Machado, Galamba, and executives from Start Campus, the renewable energy company at the center of several of the contested projects. The raids sent shockwaves through Portuguese politics and ultimately prompted Costa to resign. But the prosecutors' work was far from finished. They believed Machado, a consultant to investment funds backing Start Campus, had been deliberately positioned to leverage his friendship with the prime minister—to pressure government agencies and local officials into fast-tracking approvals for lithium mines in Montalegre and Boticas, a hydrogen facility in Sines, and an ambitious data center project.
The suspicious meetings had been everywhere. At the prime minister's official residence. In Start Campus offices in Lisbon. At restaurants and cafes where meals were paid for by company executives while government officials ate without contributing. Nuno Lacasta, head of the Portuguese Environment Agency, was among those who attended these gatherings. For prosecutors, the pattern was unmistakable: a coordinated effort to blur the lines between private interest and public authority.
When confronted with the wiretap evidence, Costa insisted he knew nothing of the recordings and rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing. Two of the intercepted calls—one with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, another with the parliament president—were deemed irrelevant to the investigation and set aside. But the others remained, preserved as evidence of something prosecutors saw as systematic: the use of personal relationships and informal channels to circumvent normal administrative processes. The investigation now moves forward in its autonomous phase, with Costa as a subject of inquiry, the wiretaps forming a documentary record of conversations he never knew were being captured.
Citações Notáveis
We'll discuss this later, not over the phone.— António Costa, in recorded call with former Environment Minister João Matos Fernandes
Costa insisted he knew nothing of the recordings and rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing.— António Costa, statement to Observador
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does it matter that these calls weren't made directly to Costa's phone?
Because it means prosecutors didn't need a warrant to listen to him. They were lawfully monitoring the people he called, and he just happened to be on the other end. It's legally cleaner, but it also means he had no warning.
The quote about discussing things later—what does that actually suggest?
That they knew the phone wasn't safe. If you're talking about administrative procedures and you suddenly say 'we'll discuss this in person,' you're signaling awareness that someone might be listening. It's the opposite of innocent conversation.
Was Costa directly involved in approving these projects?
That's what prosecutors are trying to prove. They're arguing that Machado was hired specifically to use his friendship with Costa to pressure the system. Whether Costa actively approved anything or simply created an environment where approvals happened faster—that's what the investigation will determine.
Why did he resign if he claims he did nothing wrong?
Politically, he had no choice. The searches, the arrests of his staff, the public revelation of the investigation—the damage was done regardless of guilt. Staying would have paralyzed the government. Resignation was the only way to preserve the office itself.
What happens now with these wiretaps?
They become the foundation of the case against him. Prosecutors will argue they show a pattern of coordination. Costa's defense will have to explain why careful conversations about meeting later constitute evidence of corruption rather than simply prudent behavior.