Spectacular rise in Qatargate: the former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, a key suspect currently in prison, agreed on Tuesday to collaborate with the Belgian justice and deliver what he knows about this alleged corruption scandal for the benefit of Qatar.
At the end of this agreement, the former Socialist deputy-elect undertakes to inform the investigators of the modus operandi of the fraud, the financial arrangements with third States, the identity of the people “who admit to having corrupted” and the possible involvement of people “not yet known in the file”.
Their statements must be “substantial, revealing, sincere and complete,” the federal prosecutor’s office said.
In exchange for this cooperation, the former deputy, who in 2019 became the leader of the Brussels-based NGO Fight Against Impunity, will be sentenced to a “limited” prison term.
His lawyer Laurent Kennes clarified that this sentence negotiated with the prosecution would not exceed one year.
“A sentence of five years will be handed down, but with suspension of the sentence in the part that exceeds one year. This means that he will spend a year in detention, part of which on an electronic bracelet,” said Master Kennes.
an international scandal
This draft agreement has yet to be validated by the council chamber, the court responsible for overseeing the investigation in Belgium.
Pier Antonio Panzeri, 67, was arrested in Brussels on December 9, the day of a wave of searches and arrests at the end of which a vice-president of the European Parliament, the Greek socialist-elect Eva Kaili, was also found locked up.
Same scenario for the parliamentary assistant Francesco Giorgi, Eva Kaili’s colleague, and for Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, another NGO director, also Italian.
These four suspects, jailed for more than five weeks, have been charged with “membership of a criminal organization”, “money laundering” and “corruption”.
They are suspected of raising large sums of Qatari cash to influence political statements and decision-making within the EU’s sole elected institution, particularly on workers’ rights, in the emirate’s favor.
Morocco was also mentioned in this survey. According to the press, the Cherifian kingdom used Pier Antonio Panzeri as an entry point to support its interests in the European Parliament. Both Qatar and Morocco have vigorously contested these allegations.
600,000 euros in cash at home
Pier Antonio Panzeri is a central figure in the investigation. During the December 9 crackdown, Belgian police discovered 600,000 euros in cash at his Brussels home, according to a judicial source.
Now you must explain the origin of these funds and the precise object of the corruption.
On Tuesday, Maxim Töller, Marc Tarabella’s lawyer, strongly questioned again that this Belgian socialist MEP – whose justice requested the lifting of immunity – could be one of the “corrupt”.
“Whether it’s a gift or money, Marc Tarabella hasn’t received anything,” the lawyer told AFP, assuring that Pier Antonio Panzeri’s statements to investigators, quoted by the newspaper the echoaccording to which he paid the Belgian “between 120,000 and 140,000 euros”, were false.
Marc Tarabella’s house in the Liège region (east) had been searched on December 10 as part of the investigation, but no cash was found.
According to his lawyer, Pier Antonio Panzeri is relieved by the agreement with the federal prosecutor. “He knows where he is going (regarding the sanction), everything is negotiated, the sentence is determined so that he can express himself,” argued Master Kennes.
Source: BFM TV
