Greek MEP Eva Kaili, in Brussels, Belgium, December 7, 2022. ERIC VIDAL / AFP
On Friday March 3rd, the Belgian judiciary renewed the pre-trial detention of Eva Kaili and Marc Tarabella, two elected members of the European Parliament suspected of corruption, in favor of Qatar and Morocco. “The preventive detention of these two suspects has been extended by two and one month, respectively,” the Belgian public prosecutor said in a press release.
Both the Greek elected, who has been jailed for almost three months, and the Belgian MEP, who was also suspended by the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group, deny the allegations. They had appealed against their continued detention, the Brussels Council Chamber, a control court of instruction, ruled on February 16.
Maxim Töller, the lawyer for Marc Tarabella who was charged and jailed on February 11, affirmed his client’s innocence on Friday. “We will continue to fight to get an innocent man out of prison (…), he has nothing to blame and has never received any money or gifts for his opinion,” the lawyer responded in a press release.
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The “remorseful” Panzeri
In this high-profile investigation, three people are currently in custody in Belgium, suspected of having intervened in decisions of the European Parliament for several years in exchange for money in favor of foreign powers. Alongside Ms Kaili and Mr Tarabella there is Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former MEP (2004-2019) and a key figure in this file. This “penitent” negotiated a limited prison sentence in exchange for being obliged to reveal to investigators everything he knew about the corruption system he admitted to orchestrating.
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A fourth suspect, Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino, was arrested and placed under house arrest in Italy on February 11. He challenged his extradition to Belgium in the Italian courts on the basis of an international arrest warrant.
Finally, parliamentary assistant Francesco Giorgi, a close friend of Mr Panzeri and companion of Ms Kaili, was placed under an electronic bracelet at the end of February after more than two months in detention in Belgium. He was part of the first wave of arrests in Brussels on December 9, when investigators got their hands on 1.5 million euros in cash distributed in bags or suitcases.
Qatar and Morocco have staunchly denied over the past three months that they were the source of any corruption.