Scandal in the European Parliament
2022.12.13 12:25
Scandal in the European Parliament
Budrigannews.com – Four people associated with the European Parliament have been charged by Belgian authorities over allegations that Qatar lavished them with cash and gifts to influence decision-making.
From Friday to Monday, raids saw investigators search 19 homes and the offices of the European Parliament.
According to a source close to the investigation, the raids resulted in the seizure of 1.5 million euros, or $1.6 million. This included cash worth 600,000 euros found at a suspect’s house, several hundred thousand euros in a suitcase found in a Brussels hotel room, and 150,000 euros found in the apartment of a member of the European Parliament.
In order to prevent the loss of data, investigators also ordered the freezing of the IT resources of ten members of the parliamentary staff and seized mobile phones and laptops. On Monday, the data were seized by investigators.
Italy has also been the location of searches.
According to the Belgian prosecutors, they have been looking into alleged payments made by a Gulf state for more than four months. According to people familiar with the case, Qatar is the state.
Qatar says it did nothing wrong.
Payments from Morocco are also alleged in Italy-issued arrest warrants.
The Moroccan government has not answered a solicitation for input.
Four suspects have been accused of taking part in the exercises of a criminal association, tax evasion and defilement.
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They have not been named by the prosecution, but a person with knowledge of the case claims that they are:
Greek socialist politician Eva Kaili was one of the 14 vice presidents of the European Parliament until lawmakers voted to remove her from that position on Tuesday. In the assembly last month, the former television host defended Qatar against those attempting to “bully” Doha over its treatment of migrant workers. She is being kicked out of the socialist PASOK party in Greece, and Greece has frozen her Greek property.
According to her Greek lawyer, she denied any wrongdoing. Michalis Dimitrakopoulos stated this to Open TV. “Her position is that she is innocent.”
Pier Antonio Panzeri is the founder of the non-profit pro-justice campaign group Fight Impunity and a former center-left Italian member of the European Parliament. In Italy, Belgium also presented European arrest warrants for his daughter and wife. According to excerpts from the warrants, they participated in Panzeri’s activities and the transportation of gifts, and Panzeri and his wife used the credit card of an unidentified individual they referred to as the “geant,” or giant.
When contacted for comment, Panzeri, who is being held in Belgium, did not respond. When asked for comment or contact information for his attorney, Fight Impunity promptly responded.
At a hearing in Italy on Saturday, a family lawyer said that Panzeri’s wife and daughter denied any involvement, but he declined to comment on the case’s merits because he had not received the complete European arrest warrant. An Italian court is supposed to conclude one week from now whether his significant other and girl will be given over to Belgium.
Francesco Giorgi is parliamentary assistant and Kaili’s partner. According to his LinkedIn profile, Giorgi founded Fight Impunity and is a sailing instructor. According to his biography, the Middle East, human rights, and foreign policy are among his specialty areas as a policy adviser.
A message sent to Giorgi’s LinkedIn account requesting a response did not receive a response. Emails to Fight Impunity and the office of the legislator he advises were also ignored by Reuters.
The secretary-general of the No Peace Without Justice campaign group for human rights and the rule of law is Niccolo Figa-Talamanca.
Figa-Talamanca couldn’t be gone after remark. According to No Peace Without Justice, the group believed that the investigation would demonstrate that he had acted appropriately and had resigned from his position to safeguard the organization.
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