The apology of Eva Kaili's partner, Francesco Giorgio, who will remain in custody for another month as decided by the Pre-Trial Chamber on Wednesday (14/12), is presented today, Thursday (15/12) by Le Soir and La Repubblica.
According to Le Soir, Giorgie confessed before the head of the investigation, corruption prosecutor Michael Claeys, that he was part of an organisation that exploited both Morocco and Qatar to influence their relations with Europe.
Recall that Francesco Giorgio, Eva Kaili, Antonio Panjeri and a fourth person are accused of corruption, money laundering and setting up a criminal organisation.
The apology
In his apology Giorgio also allegedly confirmed that the Italian former MEP, Antonio Panceri, was the "mastermind" of the organisation. Panjeri's lawyer, however, when asked by Le Soir after Giorggi's apology, replied that "I have no such information. All I can say is that it is unsubstantiated as we do not have access to this document which you have seen. It is a violation of the confidentiality of the proceedings."
For its part, La Repubblica reported that after his apology Giorgio allegedly told the judges "free my partner."
"I did it all for money I didn't need" were the words, according to the Italian newspaper, that Giorgio used to confirm his involvement in Qatar-gate. "Francesco Giorgio broke down in front of judges in Brussels, admitted he had acted illegally and said he regretted it," La Reppublica added."
Eva Kaili's partner is also reported to have confessed that his role in the criminal organisation was to manage the money. At the same time, in his apology he appears to "give" two other names of having received money from Panjeri: Italian Socialist Party MEP Andrea Cozzolino and Belgian Mark Tarabella, the MEP whose house was searched last Saturday in the presence of European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, as required by Belgian law.
An associate of Tarabella, when asked about it, said the Belgian MEP "does not want to comment on the alleged facts of the search. He remains at the disposal of the judiciary. He categorically denies that he was the recipient of any offer or minimum amount of money from anyone."
Giorgie was also asked about which other persons he suspects took money from Panjeri and replied that he knew nothing about Maria Arena in whose integrity he said he believed.
Morocco
As Le Soir reports, the same individuals involved in Qatar-gate were also in contact with Morocco "in order to corrupt the functioning of the European Parliament".
In the Moroccan case, the Arab country's DGED General Directorate of Studies and Documentation was also involved, as documents cited by the Belgian newspaper state that Panjeri, Cozzolino and Giorgie were in contact with the DGED and the Moroccan ambassador to Poland, Abderahim Atmoun
The same document also refers to two individuals from Morocco's intelligence services with Le Soir noting that "the presence of these Moroccan officials with individuals suspected of active or passive bribery in Qatar-gate shows that the same group did business with two different state entities that had in common, although not with the same goal, to infiltrate the heart of European democracy."
Source: Proto Thema
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