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An Italian court has approved the handover to Belgium of the wife of former MEP Antonio Panzeri. He is one of the protagonists of the bribery scandal in the European Parliament.
The investigation into this scandal revolves around the question of whether “a country on the Arabian Peninsula” has bribed members of the European Parliament. This is generally assumed to refer to Qatar. Last week he wrote the Belgian newspapers De Morgen and De Standaard that Morocco was also involved in a possible corruption of members of parliament.
Panzeri is seen as the linchpin in the fraud case. The money would come to him, after which he divided it. Panzeri is blocked in Belgium.
According to the prosecutors, the wiretaps show that his wife Maria Colleoni and his daughter Silvia Panzeri took an active role in the corruption. They would know and participate in the transport of the ‘gifts’.
Tomorrow the trial of the daughter
At the request of the Belgian authorities, the two were arrested in Italy on charges of participation in a criminal organization, corruption and money laundering. I have been under house arrest ever since. The daughter’s case will be discussed separately tomorrow.
Despite the decision by the Brescia court that Panzeri’s wife could be handed over, that is unlikely to happen any time soon. His lawyers said they are considering appealing to Italy’s highest court.
In the corruption investigation, which has been ongoing since early July, six suspects were arrested earlier this month. Among them was Eva Kaili, one of the vice-presidents of the European Parliament. She is suspected of corruption by Qatar and Morocco, but also of fraud with her staff’s salaries.
