The Belgian judiciary said on Saturday that people holding important political and/or strategic positions in the European Parliament had received large sums of money and “big gifts” from a “Gulf country”. According to the judiciary, the intention was to “attempt to influence the economic and political decisions of Parliament”.

Giorgi was previously an aide to a former MEP (2014-2019), Pier Antonio Pancheri, who was also arrested in this case. His human rights organization “Fighting Impunity” is under scrutiny by the Belgian judiciary. The same goes for Nicolo Vega Talamanca, who also runs the human rights organization, No Peace Without Justice.

According to the media, the fifth arrested person is the new general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Luca Vezentini. He was previously President of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). The names of Belgian Social Democratic deputies Marc Tarabella and Marie Arena were also mentioned. With the latter, the investigation will focus on its employees.

Transparency International (TI), an international anti-corruption NGO, said this was just one of several incidents. According to Transparency International, a culture of impunity has prevailed within the European Parliament for decades. There will be weak financial regulation, weak oversight mechanisms, and a complete absence of independent ethical oversight. Transparency International said, “The European Parliament believes that ethical rules only apply to others.”