The investigation into the Brussels corruption scandal, known as Qatargate, which is being conducted in Belgium in connection with corruption allegations in the European Parliament, has led to three new indictments, the daily Le Soir reported on Wednesday.
The defendants worked in the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament and in the circles of two key figures in the scandal – former Italian Socialist MEPs Pier Antonio Panzeri and Francesco Giorgi. The scandal made shockwaves across Europe when it was revealed that a number of MEPs, including Eva Kaili, were found with suitcases full of cash in their homes.
The identities of the three newly charged men have not been released. Le Soir says the three men are suspected of taking advantage of Qatari gifts, including tickets to a match at the 2022 World Cup, and accepting cash from Morocco and Qatar, two countries accused by authorities of using corruption to improve their human rights record.
The scandal erupted in December 2022, when several people were arrested in Brussels and large sums of cash were seized, including at the homes of Pier Antonio Panzeri and Eva Kaili, the Greek vice-president of the European Parliament. Eva Kaili, Pier Antonio Panzeri and her former assistant Francesco Giorgi – Kaili’s former partner – were indicted, along with two other former socialist MEPs, Belgian Marc Tarabella and Italian Andrea Cozzolino.
Remix News produced a video at the time explaining some of the details of the case, and also a ran a series of articles on the topic.
The three new indictments – which bring the number of people involved in the case to around 15, according to Le Soir – were announced by judges on Tuesday during a closed-door hearing in Brussels to examine the regularity of the investigative procedure.
The investigation has been hampered for more than a year by objections from various lawyers regarding the regularity of the criminal proceedings. No date has been set for a possible court hearing.
Corruption is apparently rife at the EU level, with former Justice Minister Didier Reynders who was known for attacking the Hungarian government of Viktor Orbán, recently having his home raided.
In December 2024, police in Belgium raided several properties linked to former EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders in a money laundering investigation, reports Do Rzeczy based on a story originally out of Belgian daily Le Soir.
The former EU commissioner is suspected of buying e-tickets – vouchers worth between €1 and €100 that can be transferred to a National Lottery account – a source familiar with the matter said. Using the lottery account, as well as cash, Reynders allegedly played lottery games and transferred the laundered money to his private account.
The investigation had been ongoing for months, but prosecutors waited until Reynders’ term in the European Commission expired, which also meant his EU immunity expired.
Didier Reynders made it his mission to go after Hungary for as many “rule of law” violations as possible and prevent the country from accessing funds it was owed
