A prominent Turkish human rights legal consultant who accused India of “war crimes against Kashmiri Muslims” admitted to paying one of the suspects in the European Parliament corruption scandal for “ethical lobbying services” that included resolutions condemning war crimes in Syria and Yemen, Financial Times reported.
Hakan Camuz’s UK-based law firm Stoke White had last year filed lawsuits against key Indian officials, accusing them of “war crimes against Kashmiri Muslims”.
Following an investigation into alleged “war crimes in Jammu and Kashmir,” the firm filed a “legal appeal” with London’s Metropolitan Police against the Indian Army Chief and Home Minister.
Hakan Camuz alleged that two of his groups entered “consultancy contracts” with a company related to Francesco Giorgi, the assistant of Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former MEP at the centre of the corruption investigation, for what he felt were “parliamentary services”.
Camuz told the Financial Times that he had only spoken with Giorgi and that he thought the company was authentic.
Camuz, who is not being investigated or accused of wrongdoing, stated that the agreed-upon “services” included coordinating meetings with other MEPs, public events in Brussels, parliamentary questions, and getting EU funds for his charitable projects.
According to evidence from the investigation reviewed by the Financial Times, Giorgi admitted to assisting his boss in using a web of companies to mask payments from foreign governments including Qatar and Morocco.
Camuz, a lawyer with ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office, said he was “shocked and outraged” by the case and denied any knowledge of misconduct by Giorgi and Panzeri.
“The payments were in exchange for petitions condemning war crimes in Syria and protecting refugees,” the Financial Times reported, citing Camuz, a lawyer with close ties to Turkish President Erdogan’s administration.
Camuz said Giorgi also committed to assisting in the introduction of resolutions condemning war crimes in Yemen. “Sad, the results were pretty bad in comparison to what we discussed,” he added.
Last week, Italian prosecutors expanded the Belgian-led investigation into potential corruption by initiating a new money laundering investigation. According to documents obtained by the Financial Times, prosecutors are examining payments of around 300,000 euros made through a consultancy set up by Panzeri’s accountant into Italian bank accounts maintained at Intesa Sanpaolo.
According to a transcript of Giorgi’s statement to investigators, Panzeri and Giorgi’s accomplices in Italy allegedly set up the Milan-based company Equality Consultancy Srl as a vehicle for payments for their lobbying efforts.
According to the Financial Times, the company was placed into liquidation at the end of 2020 and would be shut down in June 2021. According to payment records seen by the FT, two of the three businesses that paid the consultant a total of EUR 75,000 are linked to Camuz.
Belgian police have charged Giorgi with corruption, money laundering, and involvement in a criminal organisation. After cooperating with authorities, he is now free with an electronic tag.
According to the Financial Times, Giorgi’s employer Panzeri, who has been imprisoned since December, agreed to a plea deal with Belgian authorities in February after admitting to receiving up to EUR 2.6 million in payments from the governments of Qatar, Morocco, and Mauritania between 2018 and 2022.
(With Inputs From Agencies)