A Lisbon judge ordered on Monday that all five people detained last week for alleged corruption and influence-peddling, including the outgoing Portuguese prime minister's former chief of staff, be released from custody, according to Reuters.
They remain suspects in an investigation by the prosecutor's office into alleged illegalities in the government's handling of lithium and hydrogen projects, as well as a large-scale data centre.
The inquiry led to the resignation last week of Prime Minister Antonio Costa, who is the target of a related investigation. A snap election has been called for March 10.
Prosecutors had asked for the continued detention of the former chief of staff, Vitor Escaria, and Diogo Lacerda Machado, a business consultant and a friend of Costa's.
Lacerda Machado was released on a 150,000-euro bail, while no bail was demanded for Escaria, who will be barred from travelling abroad, the court said, adding they were both suspects of alleged influence peddling.
The judge dropped charges of corruption and malfeasance against the five brought by prosecutors, raising questions about how strong their case was against them.
Manuel Magalhaes e Silva, Machado's lawyer, said the court's decision to drop the charges showed "serious errors" in the process.
Three others detained as part of the investigation include the chief executive of the data centre project, Afonso Salema, who the court said was suspected of influence peddling and offering an undue advantage. One of the directors at the data centre, Rui Neves, was also charged with the same crimes.
They were both released and the court ordered authorities to verify their place of residence.
Others were named formal suspects in the investigation but were not detained, including Infrastructure Minister Joao Galamba, and head the environment agency APA, Nuno Lacasta. They have yet to appear before a court.
The government remains fully functioning for the time being, at least until parliament has had its final vote on the 2024 budget on Nov. 29, but Galamba offered his resignation on Monday. He cited the need to protect his family's "peace of mind" and said it did not constitute an assumption of guilt.
"I presented the resignation despite my understanding that the political conditions for me to perform my functions have not been exhausted," he said in a statement, vowing to collaborate with the judicial process.
Costa's resignation also left his job as secretary-general of the Socialist Party (PS) up for grabs, and whoever wins the leadership race for the party will run for prime minister.
Interior Minister Jose Luis Carneiro was the first to formally announce he was running, and former Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos has also since joined the race.
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