More names of EU legislators are emerging in connection with an investigation that Qatar and Morocco wanted to bribe EU lawmakers to influence policy and used networks of non-governmental organizations to cover up the corrupt dealings, according to a report by the Financial Times.
Pier Antonio Panzeri, a member of the European Parliament and a Socialist, is among the four people who were charged with corruption, laundering money and being part of a criminal group. Brussels police retrieved €600,000 in cash from Panzeri’s residence. He was a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2019.
Earlier, Greek member of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, was arrested after it surfaced that she was connected to the case. A separate suitcase was found with her father containing €600,000 in cash.
The Greek lawmaker has claimed that the suitcase belonged to Panzeri, people familiar with the developments told the Financial Times. Several hundred thousand more euros were found at her home, taking the total of seized cash to almost €1.5mn.
Prosecutors in Italy also seized €17,000 in cash and luxury watches from Panzeri’s residence in Lombardy.
Pier Antonio Panzeri, Eva Kaili, Francesco Giorgi, Maria Colleoni, Silvia Panzeri, Luca Visentini, Marc Tarabella, Niccolò Figà-Talamanca and one unidentified person’s name has emerged from the investigations and there are allegations that a ‘Gulf nation’ has bribed these individuals, some of whom hold powerful positions in the European Union, to win influence. All of these six were detained as part of the ongoing investigation and two were released later.
Several nations are part of the investigation which is being carried out by the Belgian VSSE state security service. Maria Colleoni and Silvia Panzeri, the wife and daughter of Pier Antonio Panzeri, respectively, were released by an Italian judge.
They face charges of aiding and abetting corruption.
Justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne told media outlets that more than one nation was involved in the bribery of European parliamentarians.
What Did Panzeri Do?
It has been alleged that Brussels-based human rights group Fight Impunity, set up in 2019 by Panzeri, became a major organization where more than 13,000 registered lobbyists and many unregistered ones were vying for influence, the Financial Times reported.
This was due to the fact that several of Panzeri’s contacts which were built during his time when he was the chair of a group in charge of relations with Morocco and other Arab nations were part of the NGO.
It was also found that Fight Impunity has bank accounts in Morocco and Qatar. Former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, France’s former prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve and former European commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos were also on the board of Fight Impunity.
Former Italian ex-commissioner Emma Bonino was also part of the NGO.
However, all of them have stepped down and it has been revealed that they are not connected with the wrongdoings and are not part of the investigations into the alleged wrongdoings.
The events organized by the NGO and the reports that it shared with the European Parliament were not out of the ordinary but Fight Impunity was part of several NGOs which were used to move money.
Another wiretap, according to the FT report, revealed that Panzeri and his wife Maria Colleoni decided to open new bank accounts to hide money. These two along with their daughter Silvia discussed luxury holiday plans and referred to a €100,000 vacation taken earlier and which was paid for by Qatari individuals.
Earlier this week, the police in Belgium released photos where stacks of euro notes in €200, €50, €20 and €10 denominations were shown. These were recovered from the politicians who stand accused of corruption, money laundering and being part of a criminal organization.
How Are They Related to Qatar?
The Qatari government was quick to distance itself from the emerging scandal. Qatar faces allegations of gross human rights violations because it allegedly mistreated workers involved in the FIFA World Cup projects and also lied about their cause of deaths.
At least 6,000-6,500 workers, according to a decade-long investigation by the Guardianhave died in the FIFA World Cup projects. They have died while constructing stadiums, parks and fan villages due to poor working conditions and Qatar’s archaic labour laws.
The parliamentarians named above – Panzeri, Kaili and Visentini – are accused of being soft on Qatar’s human rights violation charges. Visentini, the head of the International Trade Union Confederation, claims he was not soft on Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers but he has been accused of ignoring the violations.
The partner of ousted European Parliament vice-president Eva Kaili Francesco Giorgi confessed that he played a role in the corruption scandal. The details of the confession were first reported by Belgian outlets The evening and the Italian newspaper The Republic.
Though the investigation does not name Qatar, the European Parliament members, unofficially, have named the scandal Qatargate.
(with inputs from Politico, Reuters and the BBC)
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