The tax adviser to former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, who was at the center of a corruption scandal linked to Qatar, has been arrested in Italy, a source familiar with the investigation told Reuters on Wednesday.

SagittariusPhoto: Fucarini/Fotogramma / Zuma Press / Profimedia

The biggest scandal to rock EU politics in decades is based on allegations that Qatar and Morocco bribed politicians, parliamentary aides and NGOs to influence EU decisions.

Qatar has confirmed that it is not involved in the corruption scandal in the EU. After the investigation, Morocco complained about “judicial prosecution”.

Monica Rossana Bellini, who worked for former center-left lawmaker Pier Antonio Panzeri, was arrested by Milan’s tax police, the Guardia di Finanza, on a European arrest warrant issued by Belgium.

The accountant is suspected of creating companies to launder funds obtained from corruption.

A judge at the Court of Appeal in Milan placed Bellini under house arrest on Wednesday, a court source said.

An appeals court hearing will take place at the end of the month to decide whether to hand her over to Belgian authorities.

Panzeri, who was arrested in Brussels in December and charged along with three others, including Greek EU lawmaker Eva Kyli, has agreed to cooperate with investigators in exchange for a reduced sentence, a Belgian prosecutor said on Tuesday.

His sentence will include one year in prison and four years of probation, a fine and the confiscation of all assets worth 1 million euros, prosecutors’ spokesman Eric Van Duys told Reuters.

Panzeri was a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2019. After that, he founded the NGO Fight Impunity in Brussels, which is accused of receiving illegal payments from Qatar and Morocco.

Last month, Italian authorities placed other Panzeri family members wanted by Belgian authorities under house arrest, namely his wife Maria Dolores Colleoni and daughter Silvia.

On Monday, the court approved Silvia Panzeri’s extradition to Belgium, while Colleoni challenged her transfer to Brussels in Italy’s highest court, which is due to issue a ruling on January 31.