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Ex-MEP in EU corruption scandal admits ties to Qatar, Morocco – lawyer

Published

2 years ago

January 18, 2023

Ex-MEP in EU corruption scandal admits ties to Qatar, Morocco – lawyer

The lawyer of former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri confirmed on Wednesday the involvement of Qatar and Morocco within the corruption scandal rocking the European Parliament however rejected claims his shopper was the mind of the operation.

“Mr Panzeri confesses immediately to having actively participated in acts of corruption in reference to Qatar and in reference to Morocco and subsequently to having been corrupted and to having corrupted others,” his lawyer, Laurent Kennes, advised Euronews.

He nevertheless refused to substantiate whether or not extra overseas international locations are implicated, arguing that the secrecy is to “allow the investigation to maneuver ahead.”

“Everybody is aware of that we’re speaking a couple of case that considerations Qatar and Morocco. If there are different international locations, the investigation should have the ability to proceed with out all the pieces being disclosed to the press. And that’s known as the secrecy of the investigation,” he mentioned.

The Belgian Federal Prosector’s Workplace introduced on Tuesday that Panzeri, an Italian socialist who served three phrases within the parliament, had signed a so-called “repentance settlement” and pledged to share “substantial, revealing” details about the cash-for-favour scheme in alternate for a decrease sentence.

4 folks, together with Panzeri, have up to now been arrested and charged in relation to the investigation probing “massive sums of cash” paid by a rustic up to now solely formally recognized as a Persian Gulf state, however extensively believed to be Qatar, with the intention to affect the European union’s policy-making.

Doha and Morocco, which has in current weeks emerged as one other potential participant, each vehemently deny the allegations.

No new names but

As a part of the deal struck with the Belgian authorities, Panzeri additionally recognised being a “chief of the legal organisation,” Kennes mentioned, including nevertheless that “it doesn’t suggest that he’s the one chief.”

“It means that he’s not less than one of many leaders of an organisation that had as one in every of its goals to deprave folks,” the lawyer mentioned.

Underneath the deal, Panzeri dedicated to informing Belgian authorities of the involvement of different folks, together with the id of the individual he admits to having bribed. However Kennes declined to provide names or say whether or not sitting MEPs or officers working in different EU establishments are concerned, as soon as extra citing the secretive nature of the investigation.

Making such names public “could be asserting prematurely what he’ll say in a secret setting” and “could be a violation of the settlement we’ve got with Federal Prosecutor’s Workplace,” Kennes mentioned.

“It is not in my shopper’s curiosity to speak his info, which we talk in his curiosity and in relation to the voice he desires to hold immediately. However we’re not speaking on parts that he’ll talk to the courts, for the sake of justice,” he added.

The opposite three people at the moment detained are Greek MEP Eva Kaili, her associate Francesco Giorgi and NGO director Niccolò Figà-Talamanca. Belgian authorities have additionally requested the lifting of immunity of two further socialist MEPs: Marc Tarabella (Belgium) and Andrea Cozzolino (Italy).

‘Benevolence’ for Panzeri’s spouse and daughter

In alternate for his cooperation, Panzeri is to be slapped with a five-year suspended jail sentence, with not more than a 12 months spent in detention in jail or beneath digital surveillance. He can even obtain a suspended high quality of €80,000, with an extra €1 million to be confiscated.

Kennes defended the deal to Euronews, saying that “the curiosity for justice is to have somebody who now not has an curiosity in defending himself or herself and who has no curiosity both in falsely accusing somebody or in saying that somebody has completely nothing to do with it, besides maybe these near him.”

Panzeri in the meantime, already is aware of his sentence whereas “it was fairly attainable that he could be sentenced in 5, six or three years’ time” and acquired the same sentence then.

However he additionally hopes that there shall be “a sure benevolence on the a part of the general public prosecutor” with regards to his spouse, Maria Dolores Colleoni, and daughter, Silvia Panzeri, that are suspected of getting been conscious of the illicit actions.

Belgian authorities have requested their extradition from Italy which the 2 girls have appealed.

“Each have attorneys in Italy they usually hope that they won’t be handed over to the Belgian authorities however they’ll likely be interrogated in Belgium, which is sort of regular.

“They’ve already given their approval, that I do know, to be questioned within the hope that they won’t be questioned in a detained setting,” Kennes mentioned.

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World

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Published

27 minutes ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Italian state railways Ferrovie dello Stato plans to invest 1.3 billion euros ($1.36 billion) in a photovoltaic plant with an initial 1 gigawatt (GW) capacity that would cover 19% of its energy needs by 2029, the CEO said in a newspaper interview.

World

Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Published

1 hour ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.

The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.

On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.

The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)

HOW TO SAY ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ IN 10 LANGUAGES TO FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD

The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.

One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.

In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.

Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.

17 SECRET TRAVEL TIPS FOR FALL AND WINTER THAT AREN’T SO SECRET AFTER ALL

Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.

In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.

Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

CHRISTMAS TREES IN GERMANY WERE DECORATED WITH APPLES INSTEAD OF ORNAMENTS IN THE 1600S FOR ‘ADAM AND EVE DAY’

A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.

The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.

In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.

Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS REVEAL THE SURPRISING DAY TO TRAVEL AHEAD OF THE CHRISTMAS RUSH

After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.

Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.

On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.

For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)

Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.

The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.

This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.

Ashlyn Messier is a writer for Fox News Digital.

World

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Published

2 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.

A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.

The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.

Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.

Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.

Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.

“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.

“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”

Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.

The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.