Prosecutors still lack access to 30 of 150 seized devices in Operação Influencer

Three years on, 30 devices remain closed

On Thursday, 5 November 2026, two days before the third anniversary of the searches at the prime minister's official residence on 7 November 2023, the Public Prosecutor's Office (PGR) issued a three-page statement on the Operação Influencer case. The searches preceded the fall of António Costa's government. Of the roughly 150 digital devices seized at the time, 30 remain inaccessible to prosecutors. Forensic procedures are complete on about 120 devices, and their content is being analysed. The PGR says there are well-founded reasons to believe the locked devices hold communications essential to uncovering the truth, and that the lack of access limits the investigation in its central strands.

Seized150

Forensic procedures concluded (about)120

Still inaccessible30

Seized

150 devices

Forensic procedures concluded (about)

120 devices

Still inaccessible

30 devices

Data from the article text

Defence appeals and a dispute over emails

The PGR attributes the blockage, in a significant number of cases, to defendants and searched persons exercising their right of defence, mainly through appeals. The statement describes three situations. In October 2025 the examining judge refused prosecutors access to emails, and they appealed to the Lisbon Court of Appeal, which ruled in their favour in April 2026. A defendant then took the case to the Constitutional Court, where it was assigned in September and remains pending. A second appeal, lodged in January 2026 by a collective entity that is neither a defendant nor identified by the PGR, followed that entity's loss at the Court of Appeal the previous year. In the third situation, the judge ruled on other devices, including two lawyers' email accounts, only after the April ruling became final, which in practice makes his decision depend on the Constitutional Court.

A dispute over selecting emails

Central to the impasse is a disagreement between prosecutors and the examining judge, which the PGR says it wants publicly clarified. The judge holds that only he may select the emails relevant as evidence, so prosecutors may not see those messages before the selection is made. The PGR notes that courts have issued contradictory rulings on the question, although most decisions have favoured the prosecutors' position. An appeal to unify case law has been lodged with the Supreme Court of Justice. The PGR has also asked the government and parliament for legislative clarification, but says it knows of no legislative initiative on the matter.

Investigation continues on several fronts

The PGR insists the investigation has never stalled. Work continues on transcribing and translating conversations considered important, on hearing witnesses and on questioning defendants. Analysis of a large volume of bank, tax, physical document, computer and communications data is ongoing and has produced multiple reports. Three further inquiries spun off from the case are also being examined on the personal and documentary evidence available. The PGR's technical advisory unit is preparing technical information on the 'SIMPLEX urbanismo/industrial' matter, based on new testimony and documents.

“The investigation, which has never been at a standstill, continues in all inquiries, subject to the constraints described, under judicial secrecy and with urgent status.”

The 2023 case

On 7 November 2023 five people were detained and later released: Vítor Escária, then Costa's chief of staff; lawyer Diogo Lacerda Machado; former Sines mayor Nuno Mascarenhas; and Afonso Salema and Rui Oliveira Neves, administrators of Start Campus. The suspicions cover economic and financial crimes linked to a data centre in Sines, lithium exploration in Montalegre and Boticas, and hydrogen energy production in Sines. Diário de Notícias reports that Costa, now President of the European Council, was described in a 2023 PGR statement as a suspect without being made a formal defendant.