Bribes and gifts from Qatar to influence the decisions of the European Parliament. In particular to defend the reputation of world Championships from soccer. It is the center of the investigation of the federal police of the Belgium which led to a blitz with 16 searches in various Municipalities of the area Brussels . On the international day against corruption, therefore, a maxi investigation into bribes rocked the heart of the European institutions and especially the Socialist party. Four people have been arrested and are being interrogated: among them are the former MEP of the Democratic Party and Article 1 Antonio Panzeri – former secretary of the Chamber of Labor in Milan from 1995 to 2003 and then EU parliamentarian until 2019 – and the trade unionist Luca Visentiniformer manager of the Uil in Friuli Venezia Giulia who has been at the head of the for a few weeks Itucthe world trade union confederation (representing more than 200 million workers).
The search at the home of the vice president of the EU parliament – Among the disputed charges are “criminal organization”, corruption And money laundry. The vice president of Parliament was also among the people involved Eva Kailishe too social democraticwhich was heard by investigators on Friday afternoon: his home, the newspaper said Le Soirwas searched. The involvement of Kaili it is a crucial step in the investigation. Greek politics is the companion of Francis George, Panzeri’s former parliamentary assistant, also arrested as part of the investigation. In fact, since Kaili is an MEP in office, she enjoys immunity: in fact, the only way to arrest someone elected is to catch him in flagrant. According to the Belgian newspaper Le Soir, the house of the vice president of the European Parliament has been raided.
In Panzeri’s house 500 thousand euros in cash – The news of the investigation was anticipated by the newspapers of Belgiumin practice the daily Le Soir and from the weekly Snaps. The leaders of the Socialists & Democrats, of which Panzeri was a member until a few years ago, met urgently in the afternoon. “The investigations – reads a note from the Brussels prosecutor – allowed the investigators to get their hands on 600,000 euros in cash. Computer equipment and mobile phones were seized and will be analyzed as part of the investigation. This operation concerns in particular the parliamentary assistants who work in the European Parliament. Among the people questioned there was also a former European parliamentarian”. Five hundred thousand euros cash kidnapped they were found in Panzeri’s home. According to several confidential sources de ilfattoquotidiano.itall in agreement, the detainees are all Italians: in addition to Panzeri and Visentini, the detainees and interrogators are Georgeformer parliamentary assistant of Panzeri and companion of the vice president Kaili.
Investigation also involves Panzeri’s wife and daughter – But Panzeri’s wife and daughter were also involved in the investigation: Maria Colleoni, 67, and Silvia Panzeri, 38. The two women were identified in Calusco d’Addain the province of Bergamo, affected by a European arrest warrant which orders the prison: they would be accused of aiding and abetting. Also searched the headquarters of Fight Impunity, the NGO founded in September 2019 by Panzeri, who in the same year had given up on the role of MEP. The NGO is active in the field of respect for human rights. After all, Panzeri himself was president of the Human Rights subcommittee of the European Parliament.
Prosecutors’ allegations The one started in July 2022 by the Belgian authorities and coordinated by the federal prosecutor’s office is an investigation that is causing a unprecedented earthquake inside the buildings of the European institutions. A case of corruption And money laundry which, if far more ramified ties were demonstrated with other political exponents sitting among the benches of the Eurochamber, would risk undermining the credibility of the institutions themselves. The investigators “suspect that a Gulf country is seeking to influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament by paying large sums of money or offering significant gifts to third parties who hold a significant political and/or strategic position within the European Parliament”. The accusation, the Belgian newspapers specify, does not mention the Qatarbut several well-informed sources have reported that it was precisely who paid the bribes Doha. Their goal, while the matches of the World Cupwould have been precisely to defend the legitimacy of the competition from the accusations of violation of human rights and gods workers rights, underlining the alleged progress of the Qatari monarchy. More information about the organization’s architecture could emerge from the analyzes of the computer equipment and gods phones seized by the investigators during the raids which mainly concerned the parliamentary assistants linked to the group Socialists and Democrats and, in one case, al European People’s Party.
