London Daily

Focus on the big picture.

The ‘giant’ and the Moroccan envoy tied to the EU Parliament scandal

The ‘giant’ and the Moroccan envoy tied to the EU Parliament scandal

An extradition request unravels some of the mystery at the heart of the ex-MEP accused of illegally lobbying for Qatar and Morocco.
The money came from someone they called the “giant.”

And this enigmatic “giant” was linked to a credit card. That credit card was in the hands of the wife and daughter of Pier Antonio Panzeri, an ex-European Parliament member, who used it for their own purposes.

This is just one of many surreal details buried in a colorful extradition request from a Belgian prosecutor seeking to uncover whether Qatar and Morocco bought influence in the European Parliament. Panzeri’s family is part of a widening international probe that has already nabbed one prominent MEP, Eva Kaili, and left Brussels wondering who might be next. 

According to the extradition request seen by POLITICO, Panzeri, a former Italian socialist MEP, stands accused of leaning on his former Parliament colleagues for Qatar and Morocco’s benefit — and taking money to do so. 

His family, investigators write, appeared wise to his illicit behavior, according to the warrant.

Panzeri’s wife, Maria Dolores Colleoni, and his daughter Silvia Panzeri “seem to be fully aware of the activities,” it says, “and to even participate in the transport of the gifts.”

The man behind these gifts? Abderrahim Atmoun, Morocco’s ambassador to Poland, according to the document.

But is Atmoun the giant? It doesn’t say. 

The extradition request also includes intimate details of family discussions. There’s chatter about money and haggling over posh vacation plans. 

Panzeri’s wife, it reads, “had taken a look at the prices for a family trip during the Christmas break,” and, “she told him that she could not afford to spend 100,000 euros for the holidays, like last year, and thought that the current proposal, i.e. 9,000 euros per person for the accommodation only, was too expensive.”

The document picks up on Colleoni’s language choice to insinuate Panzeri’s guilt. It describes how she discussed Panzeri’s business matters, noting she favored the French word “combines” — or “schemes” in English — “to refer to the trips and business of her husband.”

The word, investigators write, “is pejorative and suggests that her husband uses ingenious and often unfair means to achieve his aims.”

The document also recounts Panzeri’s wife urging her husband to open a Belgian bank account. And she apparently insisted “that she did not want him to do stuff and all types of operations without her being able to control him.”

Similar allegations befall the couple’s daughter, Silvia, in the document. 

When talking about the gifts from the Morocco ambassador, the document specifies that “the offences are mentioned in the transcript of phone taps, during which Mrs Panzeri made comments about the giving of the ‘gifts’ from which she then apparently benefited.”

Both the mother and daughter are accused in the document of participation in a criminal organization, corruption and laundering the proceeds of the crime. They risk up to five years in jail.

The document stressed that all three are innocent until proven guilty and makes clear that the offenses were committed between January 1, 2021, and December 8, 2022, when the Italian police took them into custody.  

The pair have denied any wrongdoing to the Italian authorities, which agreed they can be extradited to Belgium. Atmoun, the Moroccan ambassador, has not replied to a request for comment. 
Newsletter

Related Articles

London Daily
0:00
0:00
Close
CIA and MI6 Chiefs Unite Amid Global Crises
UK Tycoon Mike Lynch's Cause of Death Revealed: Autopsy Report
Mass Protests Erupt Across France Against New Prime Minister Barnier
Iranian Plots to Kill Jews in Europe Unveiled
Huawei Poised for Major AI Chip Unveil at Shenzhen Event
Nvidia’s AI chips are cheaper to rent in China than US
China ends tariffs on all goods exported to China from the poorest countries in the world it has diplomatic ties with, including 33 African nations
Blinken May Not Seek Another Term Due To Family Priorities
Labour Pushes for Special Tribunal Against Russia for Ukraine Invasion
Oil Companies to Contest Judicial Review of North Sea Projects
Ed Balls Urges Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to Address Winter Fuel Payments Controversy
British Army Major General Dismissed for Unwanted Advances
Campaigners Urge Bold Actions to Combat Rising Heart Disease in UK
UK Requires One Trillion Pounds Investment for Economic Growth
Plan to House Asylum Seekers at Former Dambusters Home Dropped
UK Drops Indecent Assault Charges Against Harvey Weinstein
Return of Brazilian Artworks to Bahia
UK Signs Landmark International AI Treaty
Demand for Justice After Death of Ugandan Runner Set on Fire
Ukraine's Major Government Reshuffle: Andrii Sybiha Appointed New Foreign Minister
North Korea Executes Officials Over Flood Response
French Woman Testifies in Landmark Rape Trial
Sicily Yacht Disaster: Fatal Asphyxiation Claimed More Lives
Michel Barnier Appointed as Prime Minister of France
The art technique of Grandma Mei Ling, age 82
Mongolia Refuses to Arrest Putin Despite ICC Warrant
UK State Pension to Increase by Over £400 Annually
Amazon Announces 10% Pay Increase for UK Workers
Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry Demands Swift Justice
French Police Clear Migrant Camp Near Calais
New Law Proposes Jail Time for Covering Up Sewage Dumping in England and Wales
John Swinney's Government Programme Faces Criticism in Scotland
France Pilots Mobile Phone Ban in Schools
Priti Patel Eliminated in First Round of Tory Leadership Race
And Justice for ALL: Elon Musk threatens to go after Brazilian government assets
WHO-Led Study Finds No Link Between Mobile Phones and Brain Cancer
US Charges Hamas Leaders With Terrorism Over October 7 Attack on Israel
Russian Missile Strike Kills 49 in Poltava, Ukraine
Major Cabinet Resignations in Ukraine
Tory Leadership Candidates Criticize Rivals' Promises to Leave ECHR
Campaigners Propose Pay-Per-Mile Charge for UK Electric Cars
Labour Urged to Shift Asylum Policy Rhetoric
Hossein Shamkhani: The Rise of an Oil Tycoon
Putin Defies ICC Arrest Warrant with Mongolia Visit
Frenchman On Trial for Decade-long Abuse of Drugged Wife
The British bus driver explains to usual suspects that they cannot travel without a ticket. Education is important.
Irish Police Arrest Enoch Burke, the teacher who refuses to endorse and affirm transgender ideology
US Soldier Attacked in Turkey
Switzerland Urged to Reconsider Its 500-Year Neutrality
AfD's Historic Victory in Thuringia State Election, Germany
×