BRUSSELS – Other ‘European institutions’ would also have suffered the interference of Morocco through a network of influential figures inserted in decisive snods of which the arrested Antonio Panzeri, Francesco Giorgi and the former vice-president of the European Parliament Eva Kaili represent only a few shirts. The acts of the investigation that hit the European Parliament have a earthquake show that the work of the investigators is not finished and could have explosive developments.
Moroccogate seems to be on the lead with pile of evidence is indicating that Morocco has been working hard to establish strong lobby groups for years. The satisfaction of Morocco of its results in Brussels was evident when King of Morocco honoured the kingpin of the gang Antonio Panzeri.
Three weeks after the blitz, by reading the arrest warrants, it is possible to grasp nuances that better specify the contours of the investigation. Like the incipit in which Judge Michel Claise explains that the investigation, which started from an operation by the Belgian secret services of the Vsse and ‘other European security services’, concerns ‘interference actions in the institutions of the European Union’ by Morocco and Qatar ‘through the corruption of people at the top of the European institutional world’ in general, but at the moment the objective of the names are listed in this order: Pier Antonio Panzeri, Andrea Cozzolino (European suspended by the Democratic Party who is not investigated) and Francesco Giorgi. It
Morocco would have been the first to turn to cultivate its multiple interests to the group by having it led in operations by Mohamed Belharace, an officer of the Dged, the secret service of Rabat.Belharace would have acted through Morocco’s ambassador to Poland Abderrahim Atmoun, a character who would ‘work closely with the Moroccan secret services’ who has met several times To operate, the three Italians would have relied ‘on the collaboration of a group of Members of the European Parliament defined as ‘friends’. They are all members of the ‘S&D’ parliamentary group. The closest ones would be Kaili Eva, Arena Maria, Moretti Alessandra, Benifei Brando Maria.’ Except for the first one, the others are not involved in the investigation.
Panzeri, Giorgi (defined as the former’s agent in Parliament) and Cozzolino ‘would take orders most of the time from Atmoun Abderrahim’, but ‘would also be in direct contact with Mansouri Yassine, the general manager of the Dged’ whom Cozzolino ‘would have met personally (…) in Morocco in 2019.’ The arrest warrants show the round-trip flights booked in autumn 2019 by the Dged for Cozzolino, but there is no certainty that the MEP then boarded on the planes, similar to the flights paid for Panzeri. For Judge Claise, therefore, there is a strong suspicion that Cozzolino and Panzeri have ‘concluded an agreement in 2019 with Dged through the intermediary Atmoun to practice interference in favour of Morocco in Parliament in exchange for money’.
