Rome The most prominent face of the corruption scandal in Brussels may be the Greek Eva Kaili. But the linchpin of the affair could not lie with the Vice President of the European Parliament, who was suspended on Tuesday, but with a non-governmental organization (NGO) that is actually committed to fighting human rights violations.
Fight Impunity is the name of the NGO that Pier Antonio Panzeri founded together with Francesco Giorgi in 2019. The suspicion: The Qatari government has corrupted EU parliamentarians with money and gifts through this organization in order to influence their voting behavior.
Two sacks full of 20 and 50 euro bills were found in Panzeri’s Brussels apartment alone – a total of around 600,000 euros. Like Giorgi, Kaili’s partner for several years, Panzeri is currently in custody. The Belgian authorities are investigating money laundering, corruption and membership of a criminal organization.
Panzeri used to be Milan’s top trade union leader, then went to Brussels as an MEP from 2004 to 2019, first for the social democratic PD, and from 2017 for the Articolo 1 party.
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During his mandate, he dealt with the issues of labor and human rights and was temporarily responsible for relations with the Maghreb countries. From 2014 he chaired the Parliament of the Sub-Commission on Human Rights.
>> Read here: Who is Eva Kaili?
The 67-year-old comes from the province of Bergamo in northern Italy. His wife and daughter, who are under house arrest on suspicion of money laundering, were also investigated there.
The Milan financial police found 17,000 euros in cash in the family home. According to the Corriere della Sera, the Panzeris also have real estate and accumulated assets in several accounts that can only be poorly explained by the income from their years as a member of parliament. Gifts from Morocco and Qatar as well as paid vacation trips are apparently also part of the investigation.
Giorgi comes from near Milan and worked for many years as Panzeri’s parliamentary assistant, also specializing in human rights issues. The 37-year-old, who is also a sailing instructor and adorns his Instagram profile with turquoise sea photos, still works today as an MEP’s assistant.
On his LinkedIn profile, he describes himself as a “political advisor”. An Italian lobbyist who knows Panzeri and Giorgi personally was stunned by the Handelsblatt: “Panzeri always struck me as an honest person,” he says. “Obviously I was naive.” He believes the investigation is just the beginning. “There’s a lot more to come.”
Notable members of the Advisory Board
The third arrested Italian is called Niccolò Figà-Talamanca. The philosophy graduate is head of the NGO No Peace Without Justice, which is based at the same address as Panzeri’s organization.
Figà-Talamanca used to work for two years at the International Criminal Court in The Hague and did research at the renowned Columbia University in New York. According to the NGO website, he recently advised governments and institutions.
Fight Impunity has denounced human rights in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran in recent years. At the same time, Panzeri repeatedly pointed out that there were already countries “making great strides forward” – and spoke primarily of Morocco and Qatar.
Panzeri is said to have received funds from exactly every country. “I was wondering what the reason for this exaggerated activism was,” a German MEP, who worked closely with Panzeri, was quoted anonymously by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
>> Read here: EU corruption affair: Traffic light coalition at odds over stricter lobbying rules in Germany
Panzeri and Giorgi had no problem finding well-known members for their honorary advisory board, such as France’s ex-Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, ex-EU Commissioner Emma Bonino or former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, all of whom have now given up their posts.
Financing their organization caused the Italians greater difficulties: the EU Parliament apparently first approved a sum of 175,000 euros, but then later blocked it again for reasons that have not yet been clarified.
Nevertheless, Fight Impunity continued to work blithely. This year alone, the organization was present at five events – in Italy, France and Belgium. But how did the NGO finance itself?
When friends asked him, reports “La Repubblica”, Panzeri always referred to “private donations”, also from countries where the human rights situation is endangered. Panzeri’s reasoning: You shouldn’t slam the door on the states, you have to stand by them in the transformation.
More: Corruption in Brussels: “This is probably the tip of the iceberg”