Two new MEPs, implicated in the corruption scandal that has stained the European Parliament and in which Morocco is particularly mired, have been cited in an arrest warrant issued by the Belgian authorities, media reported. Marie Arena and Alessandra Moretti are linked to the investigation by Belgian prosecutors and their names were mentioned in the international arrest warrant for Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino, arrested last week for “corruption”, “money laundering”. money” and “participation in a criminal organization”, according to the American media Politico. The warrant was issued on February 10 by Belgian investigating judge Michel Claise. According to the document, Marie Arena and Alessandra Moretti were members of a “quadrumvirate”, along with Cozzolino and Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella, who was also arrested last week. This quartet obeyed the former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri.
Charged and remanded in custody like three other suspects, the former MEP reached an agreement with the courts in January, pledging to provide information on the corruption system in which he admits to having participated, in exchange for a sentence. prison term limited to one year. The plan and the identity of the members of this group were revealed in text messages sent to Panzeri by his former assistant, Giuseppe Meroni, who was still working within the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group at the time, according to the mandate. . The mandate highlights Morocco’s role in the corruption and influence-buying scandal and quotes Francesco Giorgi, parliamentary assistant to Andrea Cozzolino and his partner Eva Kaili (ex-vice-president of the European Parliament). He reveals that, in an intercepted conversation, Panzeri and Giorgi discussed promoting Moroccan interests by placing Cozzolino or Kaili on a special parliamentary committee investigating the use of Pegasus spyware to hack into the phones of journalists, activists and politicians. Giorgi also succeeded in preventing Parliament from publishing a text unfavorable to Morocco, and informed Panzeri of this in May 2022, according to the mandate.
Two Moroccans, considered essential to the network of corruption, are also named in this document. They are the spy Mohamed Belahrache (an officer of the DGED, the secret services of Rabat), known to the European spy services for some time, and Abderrahim Atmoun, Moroccan ambassador in Warsaw. According to the warrant, Atmoun “played an important role” in distributing money, worked “in close collaboration” with Moroccan intelligence services and liaised with Belahrache.
As a reminder, Giorgi had admitted having been part of a criminal organization used by Morocco. He notably explained to the judges that the MEP Andrea Cozzolino was involved in this affair and had contacts with Abderrahim Atmoun, thanks to Panzeri, who was the president of the Maghreb commission and who had then passed the baton to Cozzolino. Former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri has already admitted his participation in corrupt acts in connection with Morocco. He and his family benefited from gifts from the kingdom through Abderrahim Atmoun, who at the time was chairman of the Morocco-EU joint parliamentary committee, between 2011 and 2019.
source: elwatan-dz