OUR Belgian Federal prosecutors said that MEP Mark Tarabella, who is mostly accused of “corruption”, was taken into custody today as part of an investigation into alleged involvement of Qatar and Morocco in the decisions of the European Parliament.

The 59-year-old Socialist MEP has been jailed on charges of “corruption”, “money laundering” and “participation in a criminal organization,” federal prosecutor Eric van der Sipt told AFP.

Three other people, including Greek MEP Eva Kaili, have already been imprisoned for the Dec. 9 scandal that led to a series of arrests in Brussels.

The prime suspect in the case, Italian Antonio Panzeri, a former MEP, admitted in January that he orchestrated the scam. He reached an agreement with the prosecutor’s office providing for a sentence of up to one year in prison in exchange for accurate testimony about the fraud and those involved in it.

According to Belgian press reports, Pancheri charged Tarabela with investigators in December, shortly after his arrest. He claimed to have been paid “between 120,000 and 140,000 euros” for his assistance in matters related to Qatar.

Tarabella denied any wrongdoing and asked for evidence to explain himself.

The Belgian judiciary had to wait until the end of the procedure for lifting immunity in parliament on February 2 to consider the application of coercive measures.

As part of the same investigation, another Socialist MEP, Italian Andrea Coccolino, who was also granted immunity on February 2, was arrested yesterday, Friday, in Italy on the basis of an international arrest warrant, Eric van der Sipt confirmed today.

Belgian justice awaits his extradition.

Source: APE-MPE-AFP-dpa.