Cathargate: Prime suspect Panzeri agrees to cooperate with justice instead of one year in prison

Spectacular rebound in Qatargate: Former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, a key suspect currently in custody, agreed on Tuesday to cooperate with Belgian justice and turn over what he knows about this alleged corruption scandal to Qatar’s interests.

At the end of this agreement, the former elected representative of the socialists undertakes to inform the investigators about the methods of fraud, financial arrangements with third states, the identity of people “whom he admits to be corrupt”, and the possible involvement of people “not yet known in the file”. His testimony must be “meaningful, revealing, sincere and complete,” the federal prosecutor’s office said.

In exchange for this cooperation, the ex-deputy, who in 2019 became the leader of the “Fight against impunity” NGO founded in Brussels, will be sentenced to a “limited” prison term. His lawyer, Laurent Kennes, told AFP that this sentence, agreed with the prosecution, would not exceed one year. “A sentence of five years will be passed, but with a delay for a part exceeding one year. This means that he will spend a year in detention, some of which are under an electronic bracelet, ”said Me Kennes.

“He wants to see the end of the tunnel”

“He wants to unpack, he wants to see the end of the tunnel,” the lawyer added on the French-language channel RTBF, stressing that Pier Antonio Panzeri “confessed to being one of the leaders of a criminal organization (…) in connection with Qatar and Morocco.”

According to press reports, Morocco used the Italian official as an entry point to support its interests in the European Parliament. But like Qatar, the Cherifian kingdom strongly disputes these allegations of corruption. The draft agreement between Pier Antonio Panzeri and the federal prosecutor has not yet been approved by the council chamber, the investigative court in Belgium.

Pier Antonio Panzeri, 67, was arrested in Brussels on December 9, the day of a spate of searches and arrests that ended with the Vice President of the European Parliament, elected Greek socialist Eva Kaili, also found behind bars. The same scenario for parliamentarian assistant Francesco Giorgi, partner of Eva Kaili, and for Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, another NGO manager, also Italian.

The four suspects, who were in detention for more than five weeks, were charged with “membership of a criminal organization”, “money laundering” and “corruption”.

They are suspected of raising large amounts of cash to influence political declarations and decision-making in favor of foreign powers within the EU’s sole elective institution, in particular with regard to workers’ rights in Qatar.

The status of “repentant” Belgian justice

Pier Antonio Panzeri is the central figure in the investigation. During the Dec. 9 crackdown, Belgian police found 600,000 euros in cash at his home in Brussels, according to a court source. Now he will have to explain the origin of these funds and the exact purpose of the corruption.

On Tuesday, Maxime Töller, Marc Tarabella’s lawyer, again vigorously disputed that the socialist Belgian MEP, whose justice called for the removal of immunity, could be one of the “corrupt”.

“Whether it was a gift or money, Marc Tarabella received nothing,” a lawyer told AFP, saying that Pierre Antonio Panzeri’s statements to investigators, quoted by L’Echo newspaper, according to which he allegedly paid the Belgian “between 120,000 and 140,000 euros” , were false. On December 10, as part of an investigation, the home of Marc Tarabella in the Liège (East) district was searched, but no cash was found.

After Serbian players’ agent Dejan Veljkovic in a major corruption scandal in Belgian football, Pier Antonio Panzeri became the second person to benefit from the 2018 Belgian “repentant” law, modeled after Italy’s anti-mafia practice.

In addition to imprisonment, the memorandum provides for a fine (80,000 euros, according to his lawyer) and confiscation of “all acquired property benefits, which are currently valued at one million euros.”