There is no end to the revelations about the corruption scandal in the European Parliament, with Le Soir continuing its reports "burning" those accused. In fact, in its new report it has used a photo of Eva Kaili from her recent trip to Qatar.
The Belgian newspaper's new article is entitled: "Suspicions that Qatar flooded the European Parliament with petrodollars".
Investigations for four months
"The authorities' investigation, led by prosecutor Michel Clesais, a specialist in financial transactions, has been conducted for four months by Belgium's Central Anti-Corruption Office (OCRC)," it stressed.
Anti-corruption investigators "suspect a Gulf country of trying to influence the financial and political decisions of the European Parliament."
"By allocating large sums of money and offering substantial gifts to third parties holding important or strategic political positions within the European Parliament. The Belgian prosecution does not mention Qatar. However, several well-informed sources leaked from the very first moment to the Belgian newspaper Le Soir and the Knack website that it is indeed Qatar, which is currently organising the World Cup."
According to Le Soir, the €600,000 in cash was found at the home of Italian former MEP Pierre Antonio Pangeri in the city of Brussels. According to the report, two members of his family were brought in by police in Italy.
[/P]Eva Kaili was among the five people brought in for questioning in Brussels and was subsequently arrested. All the other suspects are of Italian origin or Italian nationals.
The "mastermind" of the network
The head of the network is allegedly the Italian former MEP Panjeri, president of the NGO "Fight impunity", which promotes the fight against impunity in cases of human rights abuses. The headquarters of the NGO 'Fight impunity' is located in the city centre of Brussels and was raided by the Belgian authorities on Friday morning. The NGO itself has not officially reacted until this moment.
What was Qatar seeking
The reason why Qatar sought to gain influence in the EU is to defend the organisation of the World Cup and to fend off the "rain" of attacks on both human rights and migrant working conditions. The Qatari embassy in Belgium did not respond to our request for a statement, Le Soir newspaper reports today.
After much prodding, Le Soir stresses, the European Parliament press office said it does not comment on ongoing legal proceedings. The Socialists and Democrats group said they were in favour of "full transparency" and were shocked by the suspicions of corruption.
"Brussels is full of spies and lobbyists because of the presence of NATO and the European institutions. In the case of Qatar, the Belgian authorities are trying to establish whether there was anything beyond simple lobbying.
They are talking about alleged corruption within the only European institution elected by the member states. And for the benefit of a foreign country accused of violating human rights, trampling on the rights of political opponents and LGBTQ+ people as well as the two million migrant workers on its territory," Le Soir notes.
Source: in.gr
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