The European Parliament lifted the parliamentary immunity of Marc Tarabella on February 2. Marc Tarabella is currently being questioned by the federal judicial police, then the examining magistrate Michel Claise will decide whether the man should be indicted.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has for some time been investigating Qtar’s attempts to influence the economic and political decision-making of the European Parliament, by paying large sums of money or offering significant gifts to people in political office. and/or strategic within the European Parliament. Morocco is also cited in the investigation, with possible corruption of its DGED intelligence service and the Moroccan ambassador to Poland, Abderrahim Atmoun.
As part of this investigation, four people were placed under arrest in early December. They are the former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, his right-hand man Francesco Giorgi, Eva Kaili, Giorgi’s partner and now former vice-president of the European Parliament, and the Brussels lobbyist Niccolo Figa-Talamanca. The latter has since been released by the investigating judge; the other three are still in pre-trial detention.
Pier Antonio Panzeri, meanwhile, assumed late status in the matter. He is considered a central figure in the investigation. It is through him and his non-profit organization Fight Impunity that Qatar and Morocco would have tried to influence the decisions and resolutions of the European Parliament.
According to several media, Panzeri said that Marc Tarabella received bribes. The report on the lifting of his parliamentary immunity also refers to the Italian’s allegations, saying that the Belgian “would have been rewarded several times for a total amount estimated between 120,000 and 140,000 euros”. Tarabella has always maintained her innocence.
