The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) today suspended its general secretary for alleged involvement in the corruption scandal that rocked the European Parliament. “There is no presumption of guilt in this decision,” CSI said. Italy’s Luca Visentini, who became CSI secretary general in November, is suspended until a March 11 meeting to look into the matter.
Visentini, who has pleaded not guilty, is one of six people questioned over alleged payments by Qatar to influence EU decisions. In a lengthy statement on Monday, Visentini said he was questioned as part of a Belgian investigation into possible corruption and money laundering in a criminal organization and was released without charge.
“I firmly reject all accusations made against me. I am innocent”, said Visentini, who admitted having received a “monetary donation” from a non-governmental organization (NGO) from one of those accused of the scandal. According to Visentini, he accepted the amount “less than 50 thousand euros” for the “quality of the donor and for his charitable character”. The amount was given to him by the NGO Fight Impunity (“Fight Impunity”) of former deputy Pier Antonio Panzeri, who was at the center of the corruption scandal.