Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella was charged with “corruption” and placed in pre-trial detention on Saturday as part of an investigation into suspected interference by Qatar and Morocco in the European Parliament, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced, quoted by AFP.

The 59-year-old socialist politician was jailed after being accused of “corruption”, “money laundering” and “participation in a criminal organization”, federal prosecutor’s spokesman Eric van der Siipt told AFP.

Three others, including Greek MEP Eva Kyli, are already in prison in connection with the scandal, which broke out on December 9 and led to a wave of arrests in Brussels.

That day, Belgian investigators found around 1.5 million euros in cash in bags or suitcases found in the Brussels homes of Kylie and Pierre Antonio Panzeri.

Panzeri, a former Italian member of the European Parliament and a key suspect in the case, pleaded guilty in January to masterminding the fraud. He agreed with the prosecutor’s office to serve a prison term of up to one year in exchange for accurate statements about the fraud and the people involved in it.

According to Belgian media, Panzeri sentenced Tarabella to investigators in December, shortly after his arrest. He claimed to have paid him “between 120,000 and 140,000 euros” in several installments for his assistance in Qatar-related matters.

Mark Tarabella denied any wrongdoing and asked for an explanation.

The Belgian judiciary had to wait until the end of the parliamentary immunity lifting procedure on February 2 before considering any coercive measures.

As part of the same investigation, another Socialist MEP, Italian Andrea Cozzolino, whose immunity was also lifted on February 2, was arrested in Italy on Friday under an international arrest warrant, van der Sijpt confirmed to AFP on Saturday. Belgian justice is now awaiting his extradition.