The Qatargate scandal that has shocked global public opinion may have been revealed last Friday, but the actions that led to today's developments were initiated a long time ago.
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As revealed by the Belgian Knack report in collaboration with the French Le Soir and confirmed by Belgian Justice Minister Vincent van Quickenborn, the judicial investigation into possible corruption in the European Parliament was launched following an intelligence investigation by the Belgian National Security Agency.
Since Friday, the European Parliament has been at the centre of the federal prosecutor's investigation into corruption, criminal organisation and money laundering. Investigators are looking into whether Qatar and Morocco tried to influence positions in the European Parliament in a way that went beyond classic lobbying tactics.
But how did this domino of revelations really start?
Based on several well-informed sources, Knack and Le Soir now reveal what preceded the effective investigation by the Federal Police's Central Anti-Corruption Office.
Qatargate: from 2021, investigations into interference in decision-making processes
As the international media note, Belgium's National Security Agency does not handle cases of political parties or actors, but real threats.
[/B][/B][/B]As part of this mission, names of politicians or parties may continue to be targeted by the intelligence service.
The most important responsibility of the National Security Service is to collect information on activities that could pose a threat to the security of the state, such as "interference in decision-making processes".
As early as 2021, the agency launched an intelligence investigation into interference by foreign powers, which is what eventually led to the judicial investigation that is currently holding the whole of Europe in the grip of revelations.
On Wednesday morning, moreover, the Flemish daily De Standaard reported that "an intelligence report drawn up a few months ago" forms the basis of the judicial investigation. The agency, however, refrained from commenting.
The Belgian National Security Service's shadow operations that led to the Qatargate revelation
As reported by the international press, it is not uncommon for the Belgian National Security Service to use so-called Special Intelligence Methods (BIM) in such cases - such as, for example, phone tapping or shadow operations. Such methods must be approved in advance by a committee of three judges.
In other words, long before the prosecution and police began their work on the alleged criminal organisation within the European Parliament, some analysts and local National Security services were already familiar with the matter.
In fact, according to information from Knack and Le Soir, the Belgian National Security Service cooperated with similar services in five European countries on the matter.
In July, the collection of evidence on the suspects in the Qatargate scandal
A crucial step in the investigation was the raid (the so-called BIM) on the house of former Italian MEP Pierre Antonio Panceri, who is one of the four arrested, along with Eva Kaili, her partner Francesco Giorgio and another person. Unconfirmed yet, the fourth person is said to be the secretary general of the NGO No Peace Without Justice, Nicolo Talamanca.
According to a report by Le Soir and Knack, some 700,000 euros in cash were found and seized at Panceri's house, providing the necessary evidence for the alleged criminal offences. As a result, parts of the National Security Agency's information file were declassified and transferred to the prosecutor's office on July 12, 2022. This is when the new process began, with the police and the prosecutor now required to collect evidence to bring the suspects to court, which is not the responsibility of the Security Service.
Finally, it is significant that, in addition to Qatar, Morocco is also in the investigators' sights, which was previously revealed by Italian media and published again on Wednesday by De Standaard and De Morgen.
Source: iefimerida.gr
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