An EU lawmaker linked to a corruption scandal that rocked the bloc’s parliament in December has been detained for questioning as police carried out more raids, Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office said on Friday.
The office said police searched a bank safe in the city of Liège belonging to Belgian lawmaker Marc Tarabella. They also raided the offices of the Anthisnes town hall, where Tarabella is mayor.
The European Union parliament earlier this month removed Tarabella’s protective immunity to ensure investigators could question him. The assembly voted overwhelmingly to lift his parliamentary protection, as well as that of another lawmaker, Italian Andrea Cozzolino.
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Both men have said through their lawyers that they were willing to cooperate with the Belgian authorities.
The prosecutor’s office said Taraballa was detained for questioning, adding that it is now up to the investigating judge to decide whether he will be heard in the next few hours.
Belgian lawmaker Marc Tarabella speaks to the media in Brussels on December 13, 2022. Tarabella has been detained for questioning in connection with a corruption scandal. (AP Photo/Thierry Monasse)
Tarabella has denied any link to the scandal, in which Qatari and Moroccan officials are suspected of offering bribes to influence decisions in the European Parliament. Qatar and Morocco also vehemently denied their involvement, but the assembly suspended work on all Qatari-related files.
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According to the report prepared to lift Taraballa’s immunity, a Belgian investigation showed that “he could have been involved in acts of corruption related to the interference of one or more foreign states intended to influence the debates and decisions taken in the European Parliament.”
He said that “the testimony against him suggests that such payments were made to him on various occasions, totaling between” $132,00 and $154,000.
The scandal came to light in early December after authorities launched a series of raids in Brussels and Italy, seizing hundreds of thousands of euros.
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Four people were charged with corruption, money laundering and belonging to a criminal organization. This is the Greek legislator Eva Kaili, who was vice president of the assembly until the charges came to light; her partner and parliamentary assistant Francesco Giorgi; former Italian legislator Pier Antonio Panzeri; and the leader of a charity group, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca.
Panzeri has since reached an agreement with Belgian prosecutors to act as an informant. He has promised to reveal the names of those involved and how the money might have been moved, in exchange for a lighter sentence.
