Four Italians including a leftwing
former MEP and the current head of the International Trade Union
Confederation ITUC were arrested Friday in a probe into alleged
illicit lobbying by Qatar to allegedly influence the political
and economic decisions of the European Parliament, Belgian daily
Le Soir reported.
The former member of the parliament, 67-year-old leftwing
Article One party member Antonio Panzeri , and 53-year-old ITUC
Secretary-General Luca Visentini were among those arrested in
Brussels Friday, the daily said.
As part of the probe, Le Soir said, Brussels police carried out
14 searches and they reportedly found half a million euros in
cash in Panzeri's house there.
The other two Italians arrested are a director of an NGO and a
parliamentary aide, the newspaper reported.
Panzeri and Visentini are well-known figures in Brussels
circles.
Panzeri,a member of the directorate of the Socialists and
Democrats alliance, the oldest European caucus, served as an MEP
for three terms from 2004 to 2019. serving as chair of the
subcommittee on human rights.
Visentini has been a leading figure for European trade unions
for years.
He started his career for UIL in Friuli and was elected federal
secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) in
March 2011, going on to be elected secretary general in 2015, a
post confirmed in 2019.
He became head of ITUC, the world's largest organized labour
group, at a congress in Melbourne at the end of last month.
photo: Panzeri
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