The Federal Prosecutor's Office (FPO) has declined to formally request the suspension of Belgian MEP Marie Arena's parliamentary immunity, in a controversial decision that will provide welcome relief to one of the key figures implicated in the Qatargate corruption scandal.
In a press release, the FPO stated that it currently "does not require a request for the lifting of parliamentary immunity in the case of a Belgian parliamentarian".
"The Federal Prosecutor's Office believes, given the strength of the means of investigation already at its disposal, that a lifting of parliamentary immunity is not justified at the present time," it added. The FPO subsequently confirmed to Le Soir and RTBF that the "Belgian parliamentarian" referred to was Arena.
Remarkably, both news outlets reported that the probe's current investigating judge, Aurélie Dejaiffe, is in favour of the 56-year-old MEP's immunity being rescinded.
Similarly, Dejaiffe's predecessor Michel Claise twice came close to formally requesting the suspension of Arena's immunity. However, Claise was forced to recuse himself from the investigation earlier this year after it was discovered that his son had previously co-founded a business with Arena's son.
A dubious friendship
Arena has close ties to several people involved in the Qatargate scandal, including most notably Italian former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, who has already admitted to having accepted bribes from the Qatari and Moroccan Governments.
The two have previously holidayed together and reportedly exchanged 389 telephone calls between December 2021 and September 2022. Arena has openly described him as "a friend".
In January, Panzeri signed a so-called "repentance agreement" with the Belgian authorities, whereby he agreed to collaborate with prosecutors in exchange for a reduced prison sentence.
Pier Antonio Panzeri. Credit: EP Photo
Despite accusing other people implicated in the case of accepting bribes, including Greek former Vice-President of the European Parliament Eva Kaili and Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella, Panzeri has repeatedly attempted to absolve Arena of any wrongdoing.
Indeed, Panzeri's lawyer Laurent Kennes has previously cited his client's desire to exonerate Arena as one of the principal reasons why the Italian eventually decided to collaborate with the Belgian authorities.
"One of the reasons why Mr Panzeri wanted to speak out is because he knows that he betrayed the trust of certain people and Marie Arena is one of them," Kennes said. "He believes that she is a very upright person who should not have been accused as is the case here. He will quote her name to say that she has absolutely nothing to do [with the scandal]."
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Arena denies any involvement in the scandal. She resigned from her position as Chair of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights in January, after Politico reported she had failed to properly declare that her accommodation and flights to and from Doha on 8 and 9 May last year had been paid for by the Qatari Government.
In March, leaked testimony from Panzeri revealed that Arena had stayed at a luxury hotel in Marrakech in 2015 with the 67-year-old Italian on a trip largely funded by the Moroccan Government. However, Panzeri also claimed that Arena was unaware of who actually sponsored the trip.
In August, Belgian investigators seized €280,000 in cash from an apartment belonging to Arena's son, Ugo Lemaire – who also founded a legal cannabidiol (CBD) business with Claise's son, Nicolas Claise, in 2018.
According to Le Soir, who first broke the story, the origin of the money is unknown and no direct link with the Qatargate scandal has yet been established.
