Belgian judicial police on Friday arrested Belgian Socialist MEP Marc Tarabella for being interrogated in Brussels about Qatargate, the conspiracy of alleged bribery of senior figures in the European Parliament by countries like Qatar and Morocco. Police have returned to search several of his offices and belongings in search of evidence linking him to the scandal that has deeply shaken European institutions. Although the ringleader of the case, former MP Pier Antonio Panzeri, claims he paid him up to €140,000, Tarabella has always denied his involvement in Qatargate. The European Parliament stripped him of his parliamentary immunity a week ago.
The agents turned up early Friday morning at Tarabella’s home in Anthisnes, the city of which he is mayor, about 120 kilometers from Brussels, and took the politician to the Belgian capital. According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, a decision will be made in the next few hours – the maximum duration is 48 hours – about an appearance before the investigating magistrate of Qatargate, Michel Claise. It was the same judge who in December ordered the pre-trial detention of those mainly involved in the plot: alongside Panzeri, former vice-president of the European Parliament – and still a Member of the European Parliament – Eva Kaili and her partner and parliamentary assistant , Francesco Giorgi, charged with corruption, money laundering and criminal association.
A fourth defendant, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, a former leader of the NGO No Peace Without Justice – which worked closely with the Fight Impunity organization set up by Panzeri as an alleged front – was released last Friday despite remaining accused of the same crimes. of the accused who are still in prison.
While Tarabella was being questioned, police searched a safe-deposit box he keeps in a Liege bank and “some offices” of the Anthisnes City Council, which he chairs, prosecutors said in a statement, without revealing whether evidence was obtained . It’s not the first search Tarabella has undergone: Exactly two months ago, on December 10, police officers searched his apartment. It was a day after the start of the operation to apprehend the Katargate suspects, which saw up to €1.5 million in cash in suitcases and bags seized from the prime suspects’ homes. In the Tarabella case, the police found no conclusive evidence and ended up taking only computer equipment. Still enjoying parliamentary immunity at the time, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, had to urgently return to Brussels from Malta to take part in the registry, as required by Belgian law in the event of an operation against an MP.
This was not necessary on this occasion, since the plenary session of the European Parliament on February 2nd approved the waiver of his immunity and that of another MEP whom the Belgian judiciary wants to question, the Italian and also socialist Andrea Cozzolino. who also insists on her innocence. Although Tarabella refused to explain himself to MPs about Qatargate, he himself voted to have his immunity waived, having always claimed he wanted to explain his situation to the Belgian authorities.
According to Belgian state television, he was relieved when the agents arrived at his home. “Finally they will listen to me, I’ve been waiting for this moment for more than two months,” said the MEP, according to this version. His family circle has told Belgian media that Tarabella is “prepared” for this moment and “ready to answer all questions of justice”.
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Due to her closeness to Panzeri and the other defendants, Tarabella was in the crosshairs of the Belgian judiciary from the start. According to leaks to local press, Panzeri, who signed a court agreement to reduce his sentence in exchange for providing the judiciary with details of the entire Qatargate conspiracy, the former MEP has made several cash payments to Tarabella in return for a positive speech regarding Qatar ahead of the World Cup that took place late last year.
During a parliamentary hearing in mid-November on the situation of workers’ rights in Qatar and the deaths of foreign workers due to harsh working conditions, Tarabella, who in previous years had been highly critical of Qatar’s choice to host the World Cup, said he surprised many of his colleagues on the bench by saying gave a speech defending the country’s progress in the area of labor law. Less than a month later, Qatargate erupted, rocking the European family in Brussels. In the same week, Metsola agreed with the political groups of the European Parliament on the first emergency measures to improve the integrity and transparency of the institution.
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