(Seen on the net)
After Qatar, Morocco is suspected of bribing members of the European Parliament
(Article by Nelson Getten, with Juliette Desmonceaux • BFTM Editorial Board)
The European Parliament is in turmoil after its vice-president and three others were jailed for corruption and money laundering in relation to Qatar. Morocco could also offer bribes to elected officials.
BFMTV.- After Qatar, Morocco? As revelations about a possible corruption case involving MEPs and Qatar continue to rock the European Parliament, another country harbors suspicions. This is Morocco, which may also be involved in this scandal.
AND ” very strong bond » between an Italian MEP and Morocco
The link between Qatar and Morocco is Antonio Panzeri, a former Italian MEP, currently detained in Brussels for the case “Qatargate”. In a 2011 confidential note obtained by FM TV, the Moroccan ambassador raises the issue of Western Sahara. This territory illegally occupied by Rabat would be subject to a “strong demand from the European Parliament”.
“The best way to deal with this pressure is to channel it through Antonio Panzeri. Antonio Panzeri has begun methodical work on this issue since his election as head of the Maghreb delegation.assures the ambassador.
For ten years, the MEP then continued to regularly defend Morocco’s interests within the European institution. Ana Gomes, a former MEP, says she has witnessed these practices first-hand.
“Mr. Panzieri’s commitment to defend Morocco’s point of view, to oppose the campaign for human rights (…) made me suspect that there was a very strong bond with Morocco”estimated at FM TV the former Portuguese MEP.
700,000 euros found in cash
Several elements support the MEP’s suspicions of corruption. On the one hand, during the search carried out at his home in Brussels, the police got their hands on 700,000 euros in cash. A large part comes from Morocco, according to the confessions of the assistant to the MEP, Francesco Giorgi.
Furthermore, the wiretaps of Antonio Panzieri’s wife show that she received money from Rabat thanks to Abderrahim Atmoune. A great friend of the Italian, then a parliamentarian and now Morocco’s ambassador to Poland.
A French MEP adviser to the King of Morocco?
In addition to Antonio Panzieri, other MEPs have maintained close ties with Morocco. One of them is French, Gilles Pargneaux, a socialist MEP until 2019.
President of the EU-Morocco friendship group, he has multiplied the trips paid for by Morocco, to which he has invited other deputies. On his account Facebookthe shots show the deputy receiving the gifts.
“It was really embarrassing, because he was not ashamed to appear in Parliament as an adviser to His Majesty the King (of Morocco)”when he was a French MEP, says Ana Gomes. “All the while he defended the positions of Morocco”adds.
Gifts and honours
Gilles Pargneaux has repeatedly received honors from the Moroccan authorities, and in particular from Western Sahara, who openly thanked him to the EU-Morocco Friendship Group for his services.
“It is a distinction that shows the interest that His Majesty the King reserves above all for parliamentary action and for the action of this fantastic team that defends our vital interests before international bodies”said Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah, adviser to the king of Morocco, on Moroccan television during one of these ceremonies.
After leaving the European Parliament in 2019, Gilles Pargneaux has maintained ties with Morocco, since he founded an NGO with Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah. He also works for a lobbying firm in Brussels whose main client is none other than Morocco.
