by Elisa Braun, Gian Volpicelli and Eddy Wax at Politico
Call them the Qatargate annual reports.
A vast cache of leaked documents from the police investigation into the biggest corruption case to hit the EU in decades — seen by POLITICO — uncovers the full extent of the European Parliament’s money-for-influence scandal.
Over four years the files suggest that key suspects, including former Member of the European Parliament Pier Antonio Panzeri and his aide Francesco Giorgi, meticulously recorded alleged attempts to manipulate the Parliament, the EU’s foremost democratic body, and wider policy debates.
Their suspected paymasters in Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania spent around €4 million for the work, according to claims in the files.
The scandal first came to light exactly a year ago this week, when Panzeri, Giorgi and other key figures were arrested in a series of dramatic raids involving bags of cash and lurid tales of foreign interference at the heart of EU democracy.
Read more: Denial, grief, acceptance: Inside the Qatargate police interrogations – POLITICO
The actions recorded in the documents include some with a significant impact on the workings of the European Union…
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