Another left-wing politician's house was searched in connection with the corruption scandal in Brussels - this is what Politico writes about. This time, the Belgian police raided the home of Maria Arena, where they seized documents and IT equipment. With Maria Arena, the list of MEPs who may be officially involved in corruption but are currently exercising their representative rights in the European Parliament has been expanded to four, M1 News reported.
The number of people interrogated in the Brussels corruption case continues to grow - on Thursday morning Politico's front page featured the news about another house search in the scandal involving the European Parliament. This time, left-wing MEP Maria Arena came under the focus of the authorities. The Belgian socialist politician has not yet been detained or questioned, but his name has been mentioned several times among possible suspects.
According to the text of one of the arrest warrants, Maria Arena and Marc Tarabella - a key figure in the scandal previously placed in pre-trial detention - together with two other associates, were members of a "quadruple alliance" led by former Italian socialist politician Pierre Antonio Panzeri.
Politico writes: he is the fourth MEP in office to be implicated in corruption, along with Eva Kaili, Marc Tarabella and Andrea Cozzolino. Therefore, Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, was also present during the house search on Wednesday. The Belgian federal prosecutor's office said that in addition to Maria Arena's home, five other locations were raided, including family members of the socialist politician. The authorities also seized documents and IT devices.
The last time Maria Arena's name made headlines in Brussels was when the Belgian judge investigating the case withdrew overnight due to a conflict of interest after it was revealed that her son had just started a joint venture with the representative's son in 2018.
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Maria Arena has denied being involved in the corruption scandal from the beginning and continues to participate in parliamentary decision-making in Brussels.
Just like Eva Kaili - the main suspect in the corruption scandal - who returned to the European Parliament last Tuesday. Just when they were voting in Strasbourg on the ethics board of the EP and on the transparency reforms affecting the representatives. The left-wing politician, who was recently released from prison, was also present in the meeting room during the voting of the European Parliament's anti-corruption proposal. However, although he voted both before and after the item on the agenda, he did not press a button for this proposal. In other words, he did not express an opinion on whether he would like stricter transparency rules to apply to MEPs.
The Greek politician - like Maria Arena - claims to be innocent, although there is a lot of evidence supporting that Eva Kaili may be involved in the corruption case. During the search of his house last December, the police found almost 1.5 million euros in cash. The authorities also caught the politician's father in the act while he was trying to escape from a Brussels hotel with suitcases full of cash. In the case, Eva Kaili's life partner, Francesco Giorgi, was also arrested, who admitted during the interrogation that he was a member of a lobby organization with the help of which, in exchange for money, Morocco and Qatar could intervene in EU decisions.
Source: hirado.hu
Cover photo: Belgian MEP Maria Arena, member of the group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (b2) at the EP session in Strasbourg on March 13, 2023.
It was revealed at the beginning of the year: Arena did not declare the flights to the Middle Eastern country provided by Qatar and the accommodation received there in accordance with the relevant rules of the European Parliament. MTI/EPA/Julien Warnand
