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In the plenary hall of the European Parliament
Photo: Dwi Anoraganingrum / Future Image / IMAGO
Belgian police have arrested a former MEP and three other suspects over alleged corruption by Qatar in the European Parliament.
The Belgian newspaper "Le Soir", the Flemish-language magazine "Knack" and the news agency AFP unanimously report this.
Accordingly, all those arrested are Italian citizens or people of Italian origin.
According to the Belgian federal prosecutor's office, investigations are being carried out into "gang corruption and money laundering".
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office is responsible for prosecuting organized crime and terrorism in Belgium.
She confirmed the arrests but gave no further information about the suspects or their nationality.
However, these are personalities who hold “an important political and/or strategic position” in Parliament.
The investigations are about alleged efforts by a Gulf state to "influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament by paying significant sums of money or making significant gifts".
16 searches, 600,000 euros
According to the authority, the Belgian police have suspected for several months that a Gulf state is trying to influence the political and economic decisions of the European Parliament.
Substantial sums of money or gifts in kind are said to have been distributed to persons in Parliament who held a political or strategic position.
According to the information, a total of 16 searches took place in Brussels on Friday.
The police confiscated data carriers and mobile phones as well as cash in the amount of around 600,000 euros.
sak/dpa/AFP