More than 172,000 euros have been confiscated from Italian MEP Stefania Zambelli and four of her assistants for possible fraud against the European Union. This was announced by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) on Monday in Luxembourg.
The employees of the MPs are said to have not or only partially completed the activities for which they were hired in Italy, but have billed them. They are also accused of lying to the European Parliament about their qualifications for the job.
Accused MPs are in a parliamentary group with the AfD
Zambelli (51) is a member of the right-wing Italian party Lega and a member of the “Identity and Democracy Group”, which also includes AfD MPs.
She should be closely related to at least one of the employees. According to the investigation, she also benefited from the amounts that the European Parliament transferred to her employees.
Some of the assets seized by Italy’s financial police (Guardia di Finanza) from Brescia last Thursday included luxury cars and bank accounts.
Belgians had uncovered corruption scandal in the EU Parliament
The action follows investigations in Belgium, which in December 2022 uncovered an even bigger scandal involving the Vice President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, who has since been voted out. 1.5 million euros were confiscated from the Greek woman, who is now in custody, and other participants.
Her partner Francesco Giorgi was meanwhile allowed to leave prison. The Italian must continue his detention under house arrest with an electronic ankle bracelet, as the public prosecutor in Brussels recently announced after a decision by the responsible council chamber.
Giorgi most recently worked in the office of Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino, who was also arrested on February 10 for possible involvement in the scandal.
Qatar and Morocco are said to have tried to influence the EU Parliament with money
The bribery scandal that became public on December 9 is about alleged influence on decisions of the EU Parliament by the governments of Qatar and Morocco.
The public prosecutor accuses the accused of corruption, money laundering and membership in a criminal organization.
In addition to Kaili and Cozzolino, the Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella and the alleged mastermind and ex-MP Antonio Panzeri are also in custody. In January, he signed an agreement with the public prosecutor’s office in which he promised to make a comprehensive contribution to clarifying the scandal.
Source: Berliner Kurier
