Spiegel: Morocco could be involved in European Parliament corruption case

BERLIN, December 28 – RIA Novosti. Morocco could be involved and even play a central role in the corruption scandal in the European Parliament, the publication reported on Wednesday. Spiegel Referring to the investigation documents.

Thus, the main suspects are former European MP Antonio Panzeri, former Vice-President of the European Parliament Eva Kaili and her colleague Francesco Giorgi allegedly working for Moroccan lobbyists long before receiving funding from people representing Qatar and Moroccan intelligence is already in the European Parliament at DGED 2019. He recruited a number of European parliamentarians to influence the Alliance of Progressive Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in .

Spiegel does not rule out that the so-called “Qatargate” will soon be renamed “Moroccan”.

In early December, Belgian police and prosecutors carried out multiple arrests and searches in Brussels, home of the European Parliament, amid investigations of corruption suspicions regarding the holding of the World Cup in Qatar. Police specifically detained the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Greek politician Eva Kaili, and her partner, and searched her residence.

We’re talking about possible “big cash prizes” and “expensive gifts” to support Qatar’s application as it prepares to host the World Cup. It was learned last week that Belgian investigators seized more than 1.5m euros in cash and valuable gifts from the suspects. Kylie was expelled from her home country political party and also lost her position in the European Parliament. In addition, Belgian media reports that besides Qatar, MEPs of the European Parliament are also trying to be influenced by Morocco.

Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, said she plans to “restore its dignity” to this important European institution. In particular, she seeks to propose changing the order of interaction between deputies and representatives of foreign states and organizations. The proposed reform includes strengthening the parliamentary system to protect whistleblowers, banning informal friendship associations with foreign countries, and revising the code of conduct for lawmakers.

The suspects of the corruption scandal began to testify. In particular, Kylie admitted that she delivered a briefcase with euro cash that she had to hide to her father in Brussels. She also said that these funds are in her flat. Earlier, the politician’s father was detained by the police in a hotel in Brussels with a large amount of cash.

In contrast, former European Member of Parliament, Italian national Antonio Panzeri, who is considered the organizer of corruption schemes, has partially admitted to being involved in the scandal over Qatar and Morocco’s interference in EU affairs. Pantseri was detained in his Brussels apartment where 600,000 euros in cash was found. The investigation documents also include the names of three other lawmakers who may have been involved in corruption.