Graft Charges: EU-Qatargate scandal: A murky prosecution

JACK PARROCK

A former suspect in the case of the European Union’s Qatargate corruption scandal has called into question the integrity of the Belgian state’s investigation into the alleged crimes. After his unconditional release from prison in February, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca (in picture) has decided to speak out in an interview with DW, alleging the Belgian justice system is not handling the case correctly. “The way they’re doing it is all very murky,” he said.

Figa-Talamanca, 51, was one of four people arrested in December 2022 raids on suspicion of being involved in a cash-for-favors corruption ring in the European Parliament. His human rights organization, No Peace Without Justice, was linked to the corruption scandal. Following his release, he was reinstated as secretary-general of the nongovernmental organization.

The other suspects in the case are Greek Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Eva Kaili, her life partner Francesco Giorgi, and his boss, former Italian MEP Antonio Panzeri. Subsequently, two other MEPs, Marc Tarabella and Andrea Cozzolino, were also arrested. Cash found in the raids totaled 1.5 million euros ($1.58 million), none of which was in the home of Figa-Talamanca. The accused are suspected of taking bribes from Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania in exchange for using their political clout to sway EU policies in favor of those countries.

Despite his release after two months behind bars in Brussels, Figa-Talamanca’s name remains on the case file — in Belgium, charges can only be formally dropped once the case goes to trial. Figa-Talamanca said having a career devoted to supporting people defending human rights is leading him to speak out against what he sees as “murky” prosecution practices. His decision to voice his concerns publicly comes after the former judge on the closed Qatargate file, Michael Claise, gave interviews to a Belgian radio station on September 9 this year.

“Everything is in the file. The truth is found there, not in the television studios nor in certain magazines,” Claise said. “The truth will explode one day in the face of manipulators who try to distort it.” For Figa-Talamanca, those comments ignite serious concerns about the handling of the investigation, while there is very little information on the case files in the public domain.

“People who make vague threats and speak by allusion cannot then complain and cannot ascribe mafiosi methods to others,” said the Italian NGO head. “Because this is what mafiosi do themselves.” The Belgian justice system has faced a deluge of criticism for leaks to the press from the investigation. DW contacted Claise for a response to all of Figa-Talamanca’s allegations. He responded to our request by saying: “Impossible. My job is built on secrets.”

The judge was eventually recused from the case in June 2023 when it was revealed that his son is in business with the son of Belgian MEP Maria Arena, another potential suspect in the case. Claise has also filed his own legal case to try to identify the perpetrators of what he calls a public smear campaign against him, according to Le Soir newspaper. Judge Aurelie Dejaiffe is now in charge of the Qatargate file.

One of the long-standing questions of the Qatargate scandal is what exactly prompted the investigation in the first place, which Belgian authorities have never clarified. Figa-Talamanca suggests it could have started with an investigation into him personally, following a report he commissioned on corruption he believed was happening inside the European Parliament.

He was part of a collective of NGOs in February 2022 to commission and publish an “Undue Influence Report” that alleges money from the United Arab Emirates was being used to bribe MEPs, none of whom were later implicated in Qatargate.