Police detain four people, including a former MEP, under investigation for receiving payments and gifts
The Belgian prosecutor’s office is investigating a plot of corruption and interference that could have its roots in community institutions. Police raided several neighborhoods of Brussels this Friday as part of an anti-corruption investigation sweeping the European Parliament. The operation resulted in four arrests – including a former MEP – and 14 under investigation on suspicion of receiving favors and gifts from Qatar.
Today’s surgery was the culmination of an extensive investigation that began four months ago. The Federal Judicial Police carried out fourteen house searches, particularly in the districts of Ixelles, Schaarbeek, Crainhem and Vorst “as part of an extensive investigation into alleged acts of criminal organisation, corruption and money laundering”, the public prosecutor’s office said in a statement. .
The researchers “suspect that a Gulf country is trying to influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament” and the national newspaper ‘Le Soir’ points out that several sources point directly to Qatar. Apparently, the host country of the 2022 World Cup has paid “substantial sums of money and significant gifts” to people with “political and/or strategic positions within the European Parliament”, the Public Prosecution Service says.
According to the investigation by ‘Le Soir’, the former social-democratic MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri would be among those arrested. At his home, the police would have found up to 500,000 euros in cash. The new secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Luca Visentini, the director of a human rights NGO and an aide to the Eurochamber were also arrested. They will all appear in court in the next 48 hours.
During the searches, security forces seized computers and mobile phones, where they hope to find evidence of Qatar’s efforts to defend the organization of the World Cup, alleged progress in human rights and the working conditions of immigrants in this country . Arabic. According to the newspaper ‘The Guardian’, up to 6,500 workers from countries such as India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan have died during the construction of the stadiums for the celebration of the World Cup.
The operation carried out in Brussels targeted parliamentary assistants, mostly young students. In addition, four of them are close to the group of European Socialists (S&D) and another to the Popular Europeans (PPE), according to information published by ‘Le Soir’.
The detectives searched the homes of two advisers and an official of the European Parliament, as well as some directors of the active lobbies in Brussels. In this way they try to determine the scope of the plot within the European Parliament and whether more people are involved. For its part, the community institution declined to comment on ongoing legal proceedings. However, he insisted that the institution “cooperate fully with the competent national authorities”.
Source: La Verdad
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