A stash of cash, the ‘Brangelina of Brussels’ and claims of corruption tied to Qatar at EU’s heart

When agents from La Sûreté de l’Etat, Belgium’s intelligence service, broke into the Brussels home of a former Italian MEP this summer they could scarcely believe what they found: €700,000 (£610,00) in cash, most of it in crisp new €50 notes.

For about a year they had been investigating what has been described as “interference by a foreign power” and were working with counterparts from five other countries. These inquiries led them to Pier Antonio Panzeri, 67, a veteran politician, who, after 15 years in the European Parliament, had in 2019 set up a human rights charity in Brussels, whose board was stuffed with the great and good.

Rather than question Panzeri over the suspicious stash, the spooks decided to leave the money where they had found it. Concealing all traces of their break-in, they passed their findings to Michel Claise, an investigating judge who specialises in white-collar crime. Nicknamed “the sheriff”, Claise, 66, a colourful figure who writes detective stories in his spare time, pursued the case with characteristic tenacity.

What he found has rocked the EU. Raids at multiple locations across the Belgian capital in recent days — including again at Panzeri’s home — led to the seizure of more than €1.5 million in cash and apparent evidence of a massive alleged operation by the energy-rich state of Qatar, in conjunction with its ally, Morocco, to buy influence in the European parliament.

At the heart of what inevitably has been dubbed “Qatargate” is Eva Kaili, 44, a Greek vice-president of the chamber, who has been arrested on suspicion of corruption, participation in a criminal group and money laundering. Charged alongside her were her partner, Francesco Giorgi, 35, who previously worked as Panzeri’s parliamentary assistant, and Panzeri himself. All three remain in custody. A fourth suspect was charged but released on bail. Other arrests could follow as the investigation widens.

 “It has been a difficult week in Brussels,” Roberta Metsola, the parliament’s Maltese president, told EU leaders on Thursday as they met for one of their regular summits. “There will always be some for whom a bag of cash is always worth the risk. It is essential that these people understand that they will get caught.’’

Yet the scandal is about more than a Greek (allegedly) grabbing gifts, along with her Italian lover and their associates. It also threatens to do serious damage to the European parliament, an institution that is meant to give democratic legitimacy to the EU but has failed to shake off its image as a multilingual talking shop filled with overpaid politicians who would struggle to make it at home.

In Metsola’s attempt to blame a few bad apples, critics see a failure to address a fundamental problem: the extent to which the parliament, which wields real legislative power, is open to manipulation by lobbyists.

“The European parliament is too vulnerable to non-transparent influence,” said Daniel Freund, a German Green MEP and leading anti-corruption campaigner. “Things must not continue as they are. We now need a general overhaul of the lobbying rules so the influence of third parties on European democracy becomes transparent.”

Among Freund’s suggestions: third-party lobbying should be registered in the lobby register, members’ assets should be disclosed, MEPs should cool down before switching to lobbying jobs and rules should be controlled by an independent ethics body.

The ‘Brangelina of Brussels’

A glamorous former television presenter turned member of the Greek parliament for the left-of-centre Pasok party, Kaili was elected an MEP in 2014. She sat as a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) — the second-largest group in the chamber.

Three years later, she is thought to have begun a relationship with Giorgi, nine years her junior, who worked as an assistant to Panzeri. “Francesco kept to himself and tended to stay in his own social group,” said a fellow Italian who also works for the parliament.

Despite the difference in age and job status, Kaili and Giorgi shared a taste for the high life. Their social media accounts are full of images of them sailing in the Aegean, skiing in the Alps or enjoying themselves at countless other exotic locations.

During one trip in summer 2017, Kaili was pictured with Richard Branson at Necker island. She captioned it: “When you meet legends.”

Such adventures provided fodder for the tabloids back in Greece, who treated the blonde parliamentarian as a celebrity. The Politico website dubbed them the “Brangelina” of the European parliament. In February last year they had a daughter, Ariadni, who is reportedly being looked after by friends of the couple while they are in jail.

After Panzeri failed to win re-election in May 2019, Giorgi went to work for Andrea Cozzolino, an MEP from Italy’s centre-left Partito Democratico (PD). That September, Panzeri, who made his name as a champion of human rights, set up Fight Impunity, a non-profit organisation. Its aim is to “promote the fight against impunity for serious violations of human rights and crimes against humanity having the principle of accountability as a central pillar of the architecture of international justice”.

Its board includes, among others, Bernard Cazeneuve, a former French prime minister, and two prominent Italian politicians: Emma Bonino, a former European commissioner, and Federica Mogherini, who used to be the EU’s foreign policy chief. They are not accused of any wrongdoing.

Investigators suspect Panzeri of having used the organisation as a vehicle for Qatar to influence the European parliament. It is thought to have done so in conjunction with Morocco, with whose intelligence service the Italian has reportedly long had links.

Inspiring the arab world

The Gulf kingdom was under heavy scrutiny in the run-up to the World Cup, which it was awarded in circumstances shrouded in controversy and which concludes with tonight’s final between France and Argentina. Qatar’s rulers, strengthened by Europe’s need for affordable gas after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, bristled at the criticism over the kingdom’s treatment of gay people and women and over safety standards in construction projects that led to loss of life among workers.

They were also pushing the EU to remove the requirement for their citizens to obtain visas to travel to the EU for up to 90 days. The European Commission appeared sympathetic, but such a move had to be approved by the parliament.

In recent months, Kaili, one of the parliament’s 14 vice-presidents, had begun showing a particular interest in the energy-rich state: according to parliamentary records, she attended – and even voted at – a meeting of the parliament’s justice and home affairs committee that discussed the visa issue, even though she was not a member. Fellow MEPs has since claimed she lobbied them on behalf of Qatar.

Then, at the end of October, Kaili went on a two-day trip to the kingdom, where she was received by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the head of state. She appeared impressed.

‘’The World Cup in Qatar is proof, actually, of how sports diplomacy can achieve a historical transformation of a country with reforms that inspired the Arab world,’’ she declared on her return to Europe, dismissing Qatar’s critics as bullies.

Such uncritical comments went down badly with members of the parliament’s delegation on relations with the Arabian peninsula, especially since their own trip there in September had been cancelled by the Qataris.

Eyebrows were also raised when a resolution in the European parliament to criticise Qatar, due to be put to a vote on November 24, was replaced by another that praised progress made by the country. An amendment to the resolution accusing Qatar of paying bribes to win the right to host the World Cup was rejected. This reportedly happened after an email was sent to all socialist MEPs under the name of Cozzolino, Giorgi’s boss, urging them to oppose it.

The desert kingdom has strenuously rejected suggestions of wrongdoing in the affair that has come to bear its name. “Any association of the Qatari government with the reported claims is baseless and gravely misinformed,” an official said. Morocco has also denied involvement.

Yet a vote due to be held last week on granting Qataris visa-free travel — previously expected to go in its favour — has been put on hold.

The endgame

Kaili has denied the accusations and attacked her parliamentary colleagues for the speed with which they turned on her and stripped her of her role as vice-president. “Her position is that she was not accepting bribes, she is innocent. Qatar did not have a need for her, it did not need to bribe her, she had nothing to offer to Qatar,” Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, her lawyer, told Reuters. He also suggested Giorgi might have “answers about the existence of this cash”.

Giorgi, in turn, is reported to have confessed to managing money on behalf of an “organisation” led by Panzeri that dealt with Qatari and Moroccan representatives. “I did it all for money, which I didn’t need,” he said, according to a statement he made to prosecutors quoted by Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper.

A pre-trial hearing is expected to be held on Thursday to determine whether Kaili must remain in custody. Either way, her political career is in tatters.

A separate hearing is due to be held for Giorgi and Panzeri, and for the fourth person held, Niccolò Figà-Talamanca, who was released pending trial but ordered to wear an ankle bracelet. He leads the pressure group, No Peace Without Justice, a pro-human rights and democracy organization, which shares an address with Fight Impunity.

Panzeri’s wife, Maria Dolores Colleoni, and daughter, Silvia Panzeri, were taken into custody in Italy last weekend on a European arrest warrant. About €17,000 was reportedly found in Colleoni’s house, northeast of Milan.

At least four other MEPs – Cozzolino, plus two Belgians and another Italian – suspected of links with the affair have stepped down or between suspended from their posts, but have not been charged.

Belgium’s secret services, meanwhile, appear rightly proud of their work. Vincent Van Quickenborne, the justice minister, has described their investigation as a “game changer” that was achieved “partly thanks to years of work by State Security”.

 “One of the main tasks of the Sûreté is to fight against foreign interference,” he recalled. “We’ve been too naive about it for too long. Look at what Russia and other foreign powers have done in the past in terms of clandestine operations in our country. We are better prepared for this.”