Former MEP and Qatargate suspect Antonio Panzeri has been released from pre-trial detention, Le Soir reports, citing confirmation from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.
The former MEP will not, however, be able to leave Belgian territory or have any contact with the other suspects in the so-called Qatargate corruption investigation in the European Parliament.
On Thursday, the Council Chamber granted his request to be freed from surveillance and his electronic bracelet. Panzeri had been authorised earlier this year to serve his pre-trial detention from his home in Brussels, after a stint in Saint-Gilles Prison.
The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s office has been investigating for several months attempts by Qatar and Morocco to influence the European Parliament’s economic and political decisions by giving bribes to MEPs.
The two countries are alleged to have attempted to influence European Parliament decisions and resolutions through the intermediary of former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri and his bogus non-profit organisation Fight Impunity.
Qatargate investigation continues
Panzeri was first arrested on 9 December 2022 alongside other suspected MEPs.
Several people have since been charged: including Pier Antonio Panzeri, who has confessed and obtained the status of a repentant, but also his parliamentary assistant Francesco Giorgi, Vice-President of the European Parliament Eva Kaili, the lobbyist Nicolo Figa-Talamanca, Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella, trade unionist Luca Visentini and Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino.
Eva Kaili was deprived of her liberty on 9 December 2022, along with several other defendants. On 14 April 2023, she was placed under house arrest with electronic surveillance. Then, on the following 25 May, she was provisionally released.
In these hearings, Panzeri is said to have told investigators that it was expected that Marc Taraballa would have received a total of €250,000 by the end of the legislature, in 2024. Eva Kaili also denies any involvement. Her defence has recently questioned the procedure, with her lawyers arguing that European rules concerning her parliamentary immunity have been flouted.
The indictment chamber has postponed the handling of the case until 14 May.
