Eva Kaili, Vice President of the European Parliament, has admitted at least partial involvement in the corruption scheme currently being investigated by the Belgian Prosecutor's Office. This can be deduced from the statement that the 44-year-old Greek MEP made before the judge on December 9 after being arrested by the police, a document to which Le Soir and La Reppublica have had access. Both newspapers have also revealed part of the statements made by the alleged mastermind of the plot, Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former MEP, who would have admitted his participation in the bribery network in favor of Qatar and Morocco and gave various names to the authorities about gift recipients.
According to the aforementioned documents, Kaili has confessed that she panicked when the police arrested her husband, the parliamentary adviser Francesco Giorgi, when he was leaving his home on the morning of December 9, a few meters from the European Parliament, and "tried to notify" both Panzeri and two MEPs cited in the investigation of what happened. She has also acknowledged that she gave her father "instructions" to hide money. The man was visiting Brussels for a few days and was arrested at the Sofitel hotel, in the heart of the European quarter, an establishment where EU heads of state and government often stay, in possession of a suitcase with around 750,000 euros in cash.
Kaili "declares that she knew from the past about the activity of her husband [Francesco Giorgi] with Mr. Panzeri and that suitcases full of banknotes have passed through her apartment," writes Judge Michel Claise in the arrest warrant issued on December 9 against the vice-president of the European Parliament after giving a statement to the police. Unlike the rest of the detainees, the Greek MEP could not appear before the judge last week and her hearing was postponed to this Thursday. Her husband, for her part, confessed that he worked for Panzeri as a "carrier" of the money and gifts with which he bought wills in favor of Qatar and Morocco in the Eurochamber.
"I did it all for money that I did not need. But now release my partner, he must be with our daughter," Giorgi declared, according to La Reppublica. The wiretaps on Panzeri indicate, however, that he gave Giorgi "instructions" regarding his couple, writes Le Soir. The Greek press has revealed that the couple had just created a real estate agency for luxury goods in Athens when they were arrested; the company was established on November 30 in one of the most exclusive districts of the Greek capital , Kolonaki.
The Italian politician seems to be the mastermind of the plot. Member of the European Parliament between 2005 and 2019, shortly after leaving his seat in the EP he created an NGO, Fight Impunity, which is believed to have functioned as a cover for his illegal activities. After being arrested, the Italian politician "partially" recognized his role in the plot of corruption and political interference uncovered by the Belgian secret services and cited the Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella as "beneficiary of the gifts from Qatar". Tarabella, a member of the European socialist family, continues to deny having received any perks for his recent statements in favor of Qatar. Panzeri has also implicated other MEPs whose names have not yet been released.
Last night, the Italian court announced that it accepts the entry request made by the Belgian judge regarding Panzeri's wife, Maria Colleoni, for her involvement in the facts under investigation. The wiretaps carried out in recent months would indicate that the woman was in charge of transporting gifts to Europe provided by the Moroccan diplomat Abderrahim Atmoun, current ambassador of the Alaouite kingdom in Poland, a key figure in relations between the North African country and the Union. Europe for the last decades.
In recent days, information has also emerged explaining the arrest and subsequent release of Luca Visentini, president of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), a position for which he had been elected a few days before his arrest after years at the helm. of the European unions. Panzeri was being watched by the police and on October 10, investigators intercepted a conversation at his home with the Italian trade unionist about the delivery of three envelopes with cash. That was the clue that allegedly led to his arrest during the December 9 macro-raid in Brussels.
Visentini told the judge that it was about 50,000 euros and that the money was a "donation" to cover part of his campaign expenses for his election as general secretary of the ITUC, according to La Reppublica. According to the Italian newspaper, the recent transfers of funds from Belgium to Italy, worth 140,000 euros, would not be related to the facts investigated. Judge Claise chose to release him within 48 hours of his arrest. Another of the detainees, the Italian lobbyist Niccolo Figà-Talamanca, general secretary of an NGO called No Peace Without Justice, which shares headquarters with Fight Impunity, was released on probation but no information has been released to shed light on his role. in the alleged plot.
