Italian held in EU bribery probe agrees to tell all
An alleged leader of a criminal network involved in an EU corruption scandal has agreed to reveal which countries were involved and how it operated.
Pier Antonio Panzeri’s lawyer said his client has agreed to “tell all” after reaching a deal with prosecutors.
The former member of the European Parliament is one of four suspects being held in Belgium.
They are suspected of accepting bribes from Qatar and Morocco in return for influencing the Parliament in Brussels.
Qatar and Morocco have both denied the allegations of bribes.
The four suspects were charged last month after police seized around €1.5m in cash during a series of raids.
Prosecutors said Mr Panzeri has agreed to the plea deal under an informant law.
His lawyer Marc Uyttendaele said he admitted “criminal responsibility”, adding: “It is important to know that this is a man who is destroyed and he doesn’t have much of a life left.”
But his client hoped to “secure his situation” by agreeing to “tell all he knows about the case”, Mr Uyttendaele added.
