“You wanted to be heard?” said the police officers who were standing in front of Marc Tarabella’s front door in Anthisnes near Liège at dawn on Friday. “Now the time has come.” The officers arrested the Belgian MEP and interrogated him throughout the day. On Saturday he was brought before the coroner Michel Claise. He issued an arrest warrant on suspicion of corruption, money laundering and membership in a criminal organization, as the Belgian public prosecutor announced on Saturday afternoon.
This makes the 59-year-old Social Democrat the fourth suspect in the corruption scandal surrounding the European Parliament who is in custody. Also in prison: Eva Kaili, the former Vice-President of the European Parliament, her partner Francesco G. and former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri – all of them Social Democrats.
On February 2, the European Parliament lifted the immunity of Tarabella and Italian MP Andrea Cozzolino at the request of the federal prosecutor. Both have maintained their innocence and have never accepted money to benefit others. Tarabella has repeatedly complained that investigators did not question him directly, which is what the officers who arrested him on Friday alluded to. He was heavily implicated by Panzeri, the key figure in the corruption scandal, who signed a leniency agreement with federal prosecutors in mid-January. Tarabella is said to have accepted 120,000 to 140,000 euros from him to represent Qatari interests in parliament.
Cozzolino, also a Social Democrat, was also arrested on Friday. He was staying in a hospital in his hometown of Naples and was taken to Poggioreale detention center after his treatment. The Belgian public prosecutor had issued a European arrest warrant against him. She searched the Brussels apartment of 60-year-old Cozzolino on Friday. He is accused of paying money to prevent the adoption of motions for resolutions that could have harmed the interests of one or more states. In addition to Qatar, Morocco is also suspected of bribery. Cozzolino held a key position in the European Parliament’s Human Rights Committee. He negotiated urgent requests for human rights violations in third countries for the Social Democrats.
Under Belgian law, the police could only search Cozzolino’s home after his immunity was lifted. In the case of Tarabella, who is Belgian himself, this was possible just one day after the scandal became known in early December. However, the investigators at the time – unlike Kaili, G. and Panzeri – did not find a large amount of cash on the MP. On Friday they opened a safe deposit box in a Liège bank owned by Tarabella. Nothing was initially known about the content. They also searched offices in the town hall of Anthisnes, whose mayor Tarabella is in addition to his mandate in the European Parliament.
Tarabella’s lawyer said on Saturday that the interrogation of his client “went well”. He answered all questions honestly. No new suspicions were raised. The allegations were based solely on Panzeri’s statements. “My client will continue to fight to have his innocence recognized,” the attorney said.
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