After authorities found $1.5 million in cash at their house during a raid, European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili’s husband Francesco Giorgi took a bribe from Qatar to influence decisions as a European Union parliamentary secretary.
In the confession, first reported by Belgian media house Le Soir and Italian La Repubblica, Giorgi said he was a part of an ‘organisation’ that Morocco and Qatar used to influence the European Parliament. He said his role was to manage the money.
Giorgi, an advisor to Italian Member of European Parliament (MEP) Andrea Cozzolino on the Middle East and North Africa, said that he suspected that Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella had also received money or gifts from Qatar. Tarabella’s house was raided and searched on Saturday. However, he has denied any involvement in the Qatargate scandal.
The parliamentary advisor accused Cozzolino of receiving bribes as well. Speaking to Italian news agencies, however, Cozzolino said, “I am not under investigation. I have not been questioned. I have not been searched, nor has my office been sealed.”
MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri was the mastermind behind the corruption scheme, Giorgi revealed. In response to Giorgi’s claims, Panzeri said, “My only reaction is that it is extraordinary that you have access to this document while we do not have access to it. This is a violation of the secret of the investigation.”
BREAK: Eva Kaili was present at the European Parliament’s LIBE committee on Dec 1 when they were voting on a controversial visa liberalisation file for Qatar and Kuwait.
— Jack Parrock (@jackeparrock) December 10, 2022
She voted in favour.
She is not a member of that committee. pic.twitter.com/1FOLgDXseT
Panzeri was arrested last weekend after investigators found over $632,000 in his house in Brussels.
Reuters quoted two official sources saying that the confession was a “significant contribution” to the investigation. “I will do everything possible so that my partner is free and can take care of our 22-month-old daughter,” said Giorgi.
Kaili has been in detention since Friday over allegations of receiving bribes from Qatar to influence decisions in the European Parliament.
She was soon suspended from her position in the European Parliament and the Socialist and Democrats Group.
The prosecutor’s office charged her with participating in a criminal organisation, corruption, and money laundering. She will appear before a judge on 22 December. Her lawyer has claimed that she “had nothing to do with bribery from Qatar” and “simply had no knowledge of the cash.”
Three others linked with the scandal were also arrested over the weekend for taking money and gifts from Qatar to influence decisions in the European Parliament illegally.
.@EP_Legal will rigorously handle any request to waive immunities, but we must avoid confusion and be very clear:
— Adrián Vázquez Lázara 🇪🇦🇪🇺 (@AdrianVL1982) December 15, 2022
this information is not related to the #Qatargate, but a separate inquiry conducted by @EUProsecutor regarding the management of two MEPs’ parliamentary allowance. https://t.co/N9R25ZgxP8
Amid the controversy, MEPs voted on Thursday to denounce Qatar’s “foreign interference in the EU’s democratic processes.” The resolution thus suspended all Qatari officials’ access badges required to enter EU institutions until the investigation is concluded. The EP also suspended work on all Qatar-related proposals, including the EU-Qatar aviation agreement on visa-free travel into the bloc.
The resolution, adopted on Thursday, asserted that it is critical to “ensure that democratic processes are not captured by private and external interests.”
To this end, Parliament President Roberta Metsola vowed to take “wide-ranging” action and introduce reforms to prevent such scandals.
Qatar has repeatedly denied involvement in the scandal. Speaking to Reuters, a Qatari official “categorically rejected” the “baseless and gravely misinformed” allegations of any attempts to influence the European Parliament.
The Qatari Mission for the EU reassured that Doha only conducts “institution-to-institution engaments” that comply with international laws and regulations.
On the same day, the EU chief prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi also approached the parliament demanding that legislators must waive Kaili and Greek MEP Maria Spyraki’s immunities.
Spyraki is not involved in the bribery scandal but is named alongside Kaili in a parallel investigation into parliamentary allowances and assistant salaries.
— Qatar Mission to the European Union (@QatarMissionEU) December 11, 2022
Kövesi’s office released a statement saying: “Based on an investigative report received from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), there is a suspicion of fraud detrimental to the EU budget, in relation to the management of the parliamentary allowance, and in particular concerning the remuneration of accredited parliamentary assistants.”
To this end, Kövesi has written to Parliament President Metsola to schedule a vote on waiving their immunity.
Hours after Kövesi’s request, the EP said that the procedure to waive the immunity had begun. The process could take weeks to complete.
Spyraki clarified that the allowance issue was not connected with the Qatargate scandal. She said she would “gladly accept the request” to prove that she has no “financial dispute” with the Parliament. She added, “The matter concerns the allowance of a foreign former colleague of mine who had a serious personal problem and was absent for some time from the European Parliament.”
The chair of the Committee on Legal Affairs of the European Parliament, Adrián Vázquez Lázara, also confirmed that the two investigations are unrelated.