The political life of Brussels and of the entire continent has been shaken in recent days by a alleged bribery scheme in the European Parliament linked to Qatar and Moroccowhose main protagonists have gone from public anonymity to the front pages of the media throughout Europe and the world.
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Members of Parliament, former deputies, senior officials among whom is the main investigated, former vice president Eva Kaili, are those who make up the long list of this network of possible corruption baptized as the ‘Catargate’.
These are the facts behind ‘Catargate’
The Belgian justice system opened an investigation four months ago into a bribery network at the center of which would be Qatar, a country that would have paid millions of euros to European deputies, officials and advisers so that they could influence positively on the Qatari image and on policies that will benefit the country.
It was not until Friday, December 9, that the Belgian authorities and the press uncovered the investigation and launched their first accusations.
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The authorities brought the investigation to light at the top when they accused one of the people with the greatest influence and experience in the European Parliament, one of the highest legislative authorities in all of Europe, the Greek vice-president (currently retired) Eva Kaili, 44 years old and MEP since 2007.
Kaili, who was serving as vice-president of the European Parliament, was arrested along with several other people that weekend following investigations by Belgian justice. His hearing to decide whether he will remain in custody is scheduled for December 22.
After being accused of receiving bribes from Qatar to defend the interests of the emirate in the European Parliament, Kaili’s apartment was searched by the authorities; in these they found bags with about 150,000 euros in cash. Meanwhile, Kaili’s father was located with a suitcase containing 750,000 euros in cash.
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600,000 were also found euros at the home of a former MEP, Pier Antonio Panzeri.
This same Thursday, the Attorney General of the European Union formally requested the suspension of the parliamentary immunity of Kaili and Maria Spyraki, also a Greek MEP, on suspicion of fraud in payments made to parliamentary advisers.
Faced with the public outburst and the seriousness of the accusations, Qatar has strongly denied the accusationsbut a judicial source in Belgium confirmed to AFP that it was this country that was at the center of the Belgian investigation.
Despite the declarations of the emirate, in Strasbourg, France, the MEPs requested during the Parliament assembly that the access of representatives of Qatar’s interests to the legislative offices be suspended.
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The Eurolegislators called for “the immediate suspension of access credentials to representatives of Qatari interests” for as long as the judicial investigations are carried out.
Who are the protagonists of the scandal
eva kaili
Former television presenter, Greek Social Democratic MEP and one of the vice-presidents of the European Parliament until that position was withdrawn, with 625 votes in favor, one against and two abstentions, following the scandal.
Kaili, 44, is the most relevant name in the corrupt plot. Belgian police found hundreds of thousands of euros at the home from Brussels of the photogenic politician, which allowed her arrest despite enjoying parliamentary immunity, since the Belgian authorities consider that she was caught committing a “flagrant” crime.
Also, this same Thursday, the attorney general of the European Union formally requested the waiver of parliamentary immunity. Kaili was also expelled from the Greek Socialist Party (Pasok-Kinal), and removed from the block of Social Democrats in the European Parliament.
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Kaili is in pretrial detention and accused of criminal organization, money laundering and corruption.
Francesco Giorgio
Assistant in the Eurochamber and sentimental partner for five years of Kaili, with whom he has a daughter, this Italian is accused of the same charges as his partner.
George, 35 years old, admitted his guilt before the police and before the investigating judge in the interrogations to which he has been subjected by the Belgian authorities.
The parliamentary assistant, whom the judge decided this Wednesday to keep in preventive detention, has pointed to the former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzieri as the mastermind of the plotfrom whom the police confiscated 700,000 euros at his home and who is also accused and is in provisional detention.
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The young Italian has also accused two other MEPs Social Democrats: the Belgian Marc Tarabella, whose address had already been registered by the authorities in the framework of the investigation, but who was at large; and the Italian Andrea Cozzolino, for whom Giorgi worked as an assistant.
Pier Antonio Panzeri
Former European deputy between 2004 and 2019, former union leader and founder of the NGO Fight Impunity (Fight against impunity), this 67-year-old Italian social democrat would be the central protagonist of the bribery scheme.Belgian police found 700,000 euros in cash at his home.
Niccolo Figa-Talamanca
Italian lobbyist and general secretary of the NGO No peace Without Justice (There is no peace without justice), which shares its headquarters with Fight Impunity in a small building in Brussels (41 rue Ducale).
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Figa-Talamanca is also accused and he has been released although he is required to wear an electronic bracelet.
Marc Tarabella
Member of the European Parliament since 2009, this 59-year-old Belgian Social Democrat.
He has been suspended from both his party in Belgium and the socialist group in the Eurochamber amid suspicions that he was part of the corrupt organization after police searched his office at the European Parliament and his home.
Tarabella is Vice President of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with the Arabian Peninsula (DARP).
He assures that he never received “any gift from Qatar“And that, if he had, he would have denounced it, but Kaili’s boyfriend has indicated him in his confession as one of those involved in the plot.
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Luca Visentini
General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Visenti, 53, is accused of the corrupt plot and on probation.
Very critical of Qatar a decade ago, when he denounced that workers there were reduced to “slavery”the union leader’s positions evolved over the years towards much kinder positions.
Andrea Cozzolino
An Italian Social Democratic MEP since 2009, he employed Giorgi, Kaili’s sentimental partner, as an assistant in the European Parliament, who has indicated him as one of those involved in the bribery scheme.
The 60-year-old politician was a member of the Human Rights Subcommittee of the European Parliament chaired by Arena, and was also part of the parliamentary investigation commission on the use of spyware such as Pegasus, whose final report, still in the process of amendments , mention Morocco.
The Italian Democratic Party (PD) suspended Cozzolino from all the formation bodies this Friday after being involved in the scandal.
His suspension is “precautionary”, until the investigations are finished, and it was decided this Friday at a meeting of the PD Guarantee Commission called urgently by the PD secretary, Enrico Letta, according to a statement from this formation, the main one in the opposition.
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marie arena
The name of this French-speaking Belgian socialist MEP, 55, has been linked to the corrupt plot since the scandal broke, even before the court charged an assistant in the European Parliament of this former Belgian Minister of Public Administration.
Although at the moment there is no formal accusation against Arena, the policy itself has suspended its functions as chair of the subcommittee of Human Rights of the European Parliament.
Abderrahim Atmoun
He is Moroccan ambassador to Poland and his name appears on the arrest warrant sent by Belgium to Italy to request the arrest and delivery of Panzieri’s wife and daughter, suspected of having withdrawn “gifts” from the plot at the Moroccan diplomatic legation in Warsaw.
Other characters involved
Alexandros Kailis
He is the father of Kaili, who was detained by police leaving a Brussels hotel with bags of cash. A total of 750,000 euros.
Maria Colleoni and Silvia Panzeri
Panzeri’s wife and daughter have been arrested in Italy at the request of the Belgian Justice, which, based on wiretaps, considers that they helped the politician in his illegal activities.
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Michel Claise
It is the Belgian judge who investigates the cause of the corrupt plot. Belgian, French-speaking and 66 years old, he specializes in the fight against financial crime, has a reputation as a magistrate without fear of investigating sensitive matters and confesses to being a member of Freemasonry.
Parliamentary Assistant
It has emerged that among the defendants there is a parliamentary assistant from Marie Arena, but his name is not yet known.
Santiago Andrés Venera Salazar*
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
With information from agencies
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