Evidence leaked to the press continues to trouble the accused in the Qatargate corruption scandal, which has now implicated a mysterious “Dutch woman” in what appears to be a bigger, more organised effort to subvert the workings of the European Parliament.
Details of an arrest warrant, reported in Greek media and also Brussels-based Politico, allege suspects received larger amounts of cash than previously thought: “several million euros”, rather than hundreds of thousands, funnelled to parliamentarians by both Qatar and Morocco.
Former Parliament vice-president Eva Kaili, in prison since December, made several phone calls after the discovery of cash and the arrest of her partner Francesco Giorgi, Politico reports. While one of these calls is known to have been to Belgian Socialist Marc Tarabella, the identities of the other respondents are as yet unknown. Belgian investigators have been working with Qatargate ‘kingpin’ Pier Antonio Panzeri, who was last month rumoured to have named law-makers from both France and Germany. Panzeri has struck a plea bargain deal.
Panzeri reportedly wanted Kaili to stop talking to a “Dutch woman”, according to the warrant. Her identity is also unknown.
“The warrant also states that Giorgi had been unofficially helping Kaili pay off a ‘second apartment’ purchased under her name, citing the arrangement as evidence she was aware of her partner’s Qatargate income”, the Politico article states. Kaili denies any wrongdoing, as does Tarabella, Qatar, and Morocco.
The actions of the accused within the assembly’s human rights committee have been studied by several media and form the basis of a podcast by EU Scream, which has collected audio of at least one meeting. Belgian newspaper La Capitale has also examined the behaviour of Tarabella within the committee.
The picture painted is one of a deliberate attempt to play down accusations against Qatar regarding construction site deaths in the lead-up to the FIFA football World Cup. Qatar’s opponents’ attempts to air accusations in the committee were cut short by the chair (another Belgian Socialist, Maria Arena, who has resigned from the committee claiming her innocence).
Tarabella, who was not on the speakers’ list, took the floor at one meeting to complain that his MEP colleagues were “seeing an image from ten years ago when we have to look at the thread of evolution and appreciate it at its fair value by inviting Qatar to continue its efforts after the Cup,” according to La Capitale.
Both Arena and Tarabella failed to declare voyages to Qatar on the Parliament’s register within the required timeframe.
Tarabella’s lawyer defended his client in the Belgian newspaper article. The telephone call from Kaili was simply to ask for the contact details of a local defence lawyer, he said. As for the cash Tarabella allegedly received, there is no evidence of this, the lawyer claimed. On the subject of Tarabella’s intervention in the committee, he could have been “much more pro-Qatar” i.e. his comments were balanced.
Michel Claise, Qatargate’s investigating judge, has refused a request by Tarabella’s lawyer to remove himself from the case (the lawyer alleged Claise had violated the principle of presumption of innocence). Given that this issue might now be addressed by an appeal court, the Qaratgate scandal looks set to drag on for several months, during which new leaks, and new evidence, are expected to emerge.
