Italians arrested for corruption of Qatar in the European Parliament

Brussels police executed a series of warrants this Friday (9) and arrested at least four Italians as part of an investigation into suspected Qatari corruption in the European Parliament.

Among the objectives of the operation: the former Italian MEP Antonio Panzeri; the current member of the International Confederation of Trade Unions (CSI or Ituc), Luca Visentini; Niccolò Figà-Talamanca, of the NGO “There is no peace without justice”; in addition to the vice president of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, and her partner, the Italian Francesco Giorgi, parliamentary assistant of the socialists.

In Bergamo, Italy, Panzeri’s wife and daughter, Maria Colleoni, 67, and Silvia, 38, respectively, were arrested for criminal conspiracy. The two were taken to the regional prison.

This was announced by the newspaper Le Soir, citing information from the investigation, whose suspicions indicate “that a Gulf country has tried to influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament”.

According to the newspaper, the country in question is Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup. In all, the judicial police carried out 16 house searches in Brussels, in which mobile phones, around 600 thousand euros in cash and computer equipment were seized.

In a statement, the Public Prosecutor’s Office said the investigation focused on “parliamentary assistants working in the European Parliament”, in an inquiry into alleged acts of “criminal organisation, corruption and money laundering”.

According to the authorities, the group did so “by paying large sums of money and offering important gifts to third parties with an important political or strategic position within the European Parliament”. 🇧🇷

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Source: Terra

Camila

Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.