The charges, which Arena has denied, are the latest in the Qatargate allegations that foreign lobbyists attempted to purchase influence in the European Parliament.
Maria Arena, a former socialist party member of the European Parliament (MEP), has been charged with membership of a criminal organisation, the Belgian federal prosecutor has confirmed to Euronews.
The move follows the Qatargate scandal that rocked the Parliament in 2022, that has seen multiple MEPs and staffers charged with corruption and money laundering.
The charges were confirmed following revelations in newspaper La Libre, but the spokesperson declined to comment further on the investigation into the alleged purchase of influence by foreign actors such as Qatar.
Arena has denied the accusations, as have other implicated former MEPs Eva Kaili, her domestic partner Francesco Giorgi, Pier Antonio Panzeri, Andrea Cozzolino and Marc Tarabella.
Arena, who until July 2024 was MEP for the French-speaking region of Belgium, stepped down from her position as chair for the Parliament’s human rights subcommittee after it was revealed she had failed to declare paid-for trips to Qatar.
She had up until now avoided direct charges, though earlier in the probe Belgian police had sealed her assistant’s office.
Arena told La Libre she had been “charged because I know other people who are themselves charged with corruption.”
It’s the latest twist in a case that’s become increasingly sprawling.
In June 2023, Michael Claise, the judge leading the investigation, stepped down following conflict of interest allegations. Tarabella’s lawyer claimed Claise could not be impartial, as his son and Arena’s son were business partners.
The news means four more have now been charged in connection with the investigation, in addition to the six individuals who were charged in the months after the case opened in December 2022.
Earlier in January, Le Soir reported charges for three further suspects – including two advisors and an assistant for the socialist grouping.
Over two years in, the case is set for further bumps in the road. Investigating judge Aurélie Dejaiffe is shortly leaving for another post within the Belgian court system, and Kaili’s case has been further delayed by questions over whether information provided by Belgian spies was lawful.
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