Brussels/Naples The two MEPs Marc Tarabella and Andrea Cozzolino have been arrested in the EU corruption scandal. After the Belgian Tarabella was arrested in Brussels on Friday afternoon and questioned by the public prosecutor’s office, the Italian police arrested Cozzolino in the evening. He had been treated in a clinic in Naples and was taken into custody by the financial police when leaving the hospital, as Italian media reported unanimously.
The two MEPs – who were recently expelled from the Social Democrats group and had their immunity revoked by Parliament – are accused of having been paid by third countries. They each protest their innocence.
In December, the EU Parliament was shaken by the corruption scandal involving then-Vice President Eva Kaili. She lost her job on suspicion of corruption. The judiciary charges Kaili and other suspects with involvement in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption. It is about alleged influence on decisions by Qatar and Morocco.
Tarabella was questioned in Brussels by investigators, who also searched his office in the European Parliament and other business premises. The investigators also went to Cozzolino’s office in Brussels. Meanwhile, he was treated in a hospital in Naples on Friday for health problems. There the police arrested him to take him to prison, as reported by the Ansa news agency, citing legal sources.
The two politicians and their possible role in the scandal had been reported since December. At the beginning of February, her immunity was lifted so that the public prosecutor’s office could investigate her.
More: The main character of the Brussels corruption scandal has fought in vain to spend Christmas with her daughter. The court has decided to keep her in custody.