The Italian former MEP at the centre of Qatargate has expressed his desire to be "confronted" by Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella, who is also suspected of involvement in the corruption scandal.
In a statement published on Friday, Antonio Panzeri – who confessed in January to soliciting bribes from the Qatari and Moroccan Governments and is now formally cooperating with the Belgian authorities – hit back at Tarabella's suggestion that he (Panzeri) had accused Tarabella of corruption merely in order to receive a reduced prison sentence.
Panzeri said he feels compelled to react to "untruths and unfounded accusations" from Tarabella. He voiced his hopes that their dispute might be heard "by the investigating judge with Mr Marc Tarabella, whose defence is constantly trying to discredit me through the media."
The outraged Italian swore his commitment "to tell the truth and nothing else, without regard to the defence strategies of the defendants, or even to the pressures of any kind that could be exerted on me."
A questionable witness?
Tarabella was arrested and jailed on 10 February this year, one month after he was officially expelled from both his centre-left EU parliamentary group (S&D) and his political party in Belgium (PS).
He was subsequently placed under house arrest in April before being released last month. He remains under investigation by the Belgian authorities.
Among other allegations, the 60-year-old has been accused by Panzeri of accepting bribes of up to €140,000 to support pro-Qatari policies. Tarabella strongly denies the claims.
Marc Tarabella. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
Tarabella's lawyer, Maxim Töller, has previously suggested that Panzeri's allegation that Tarabella took bribes is contradicted by the testimony of Francesco Giorgi, Panzeri's former parliamentary assistant.
Töller has also claimed his client was arrested solely on the basis of the testimony of Panzeri, whose personal credibility and motives are at best – according to Töller – highly questionable.
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"Panzeri has every interest, in order to benefit from a reduction in his sentence, to give as much information as possible to the investigators," Töller said. "He accuses Tarabella in the most infamous ways, where it is impossible to demonstrate that it is not true."
He added: "Based on the statements of a man [Panzeri] whose ability to sell himself is known, we put someone in preventive detention... I would have preferred that we didn't put my client in prison based on the assertions of a person who wants to say things to get out of prison."
