The Belgian police have confiscated 1.5 million euros in cash, which was also found with members of the EP, Report informs referring to TVNET.
Evidence has been obtained that the governments of Qatar and Morocco paid officials to influence European Union (EU) institutions in favor of these countries. Eldar Mammadov, former Latvian diplomat, is also involved in the Brussels scandal.
The arrested leader of the group has confessed to the crimes and is ready to name all bribed persons in parliament.
Mamedov is currently suspended from his duties and while the investigation is ongoing, he does not comment on his involvement in the incident.
Operation "Mezzo", or the biggest scandal in the history of EP, started less than a year ago. The secret services found 400,000 euros in cash in a suitcase under the bed at the home of former MP Pierre Antonio Panzeri in Brussels. The same amount of money was found in the home safe.
Panzeri was unaware of the secret visit and his subsequent meetings and conversations were observed and recorded by Belgian investigators.
The investigative materials obtained by the influential publication "Der Spiegel" allow the restoration of several meetings at the five-star hotel Sofitel Place Jourdan.
There, representatives of the Qatari government met with Panzeri, who helped prepare a speech for them at a meeting of the EP’s subcommittee on human rights last November.
On one of these occasions, Francesco Giorgi, the spouse of EP Vice-President Eva Kaili, an assistant to one of the parliamentarians, was also present.
The MPs had to be convinced that Qatar had made significant reforms. Kaili also publicly defended Qatar, and criticized colleagues for hypocrisy.
Regular and long-term bribery of MEPs came to light at the end of December last year. After learning about the search and the arrest of her spouse and Panzeri, Kaili tried to hide the evidence. However, law enforcement officers found a suitcase full of cash hidden in her baby’s stroller.
MPs have already voted to remove Kaili from office because the official is not immune if caught with evidence.
Besides Qatar, another country that tried to buy influence in European institutions is Morocco. Two-thirds of Morocco’s foreign trade is with the EU. Morocco also wants political support in the conflict over Western Sahara, while the EU relies on the Moroccan government to prevent African migrants from reaching Europe. The members of the interrogation group admitted that they also worked for Mauritania and Saudi Arabia.