Michel Claise, the Belgian judge in charge of the Qatargate investigation into alleged corruption in the European Parliament, has ceased his involvement following concerns about conflict of interest.
As Le Soir reported late Monday evening, June 19th, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release that “elements have recently come to light … [which] could raise doubts about the objective functioning of the investigation.”
To “allow the Justice Department to continue its work in serenity and maintain the necessary separation between private and family life and professional responsibilities,” the statement continued, Michel Claise had informed the office that he had decided to withdraw from the case.
On Tuesday, June 20th De Standaard reported it had learned what prompted the decision. According to a “reliable source,” Claise’s son currently runs a business with the son of a by now familiar name in the Qatargate saga: MEP Marie Arena (Parti Socialiste).
While Arena, a former Belgian minister, has never been formally questioned nor charged, her name has frequently cropped up.
Only in January of this year, she resigned from her position as chairwoman of the Human Rights Subcommittee of the European Parliament (DROI) when it was revealed she had failed to declare, in line with EU rules, that she had accepted free flights and a hotel stay from the Qatari government. Arena dismissed it as a clerical error, for which her assistant was to blame.
The Belgian MEP is known to be a close associate of former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, a central figure in the case, who has since admitted guilt in a plea deal. Arena has described their friendship as “professional,” and Panzeri has come to her defense, insisting she is innocent of any wrongdoing pertaining to the case.
Other close associates of Arena’s are Andrea Cozzolino, Marc Tarabella, Eva Kaili, and Francesco Giorgi, all key suspects who have allegedly taken bribes from Qatar.
Investigators learned during an interrogation of Panzeri that Cozzolino allegedly paid Belgian MEP Tarabella large sums of money to take favorable positions on Qatar.
Tarabella was previously detained on suspicion of corruption, money laundering, and gang affiliation.
A European warrant had been issued for the arrest of the first person on that list, Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino. The Socialist MEP is facing charges of corruption, criminal organization, and money laundering.
He has since of his own volition journeyed from Italy to Belgium, where he was interrogated by Michel Claise on Monday.
Claise’s replacement, the Belgian judge Aurélie Dejaiffe, as her first act, chose to release Cozzolino from house arrest on Wednesday, June 21st. Dejaiffe had been working on the case before on several occasions, and will now assume full responsibility for its future direction.
Following Dejaiffe’s decision, Cozzolino would be able to rejoin former Qatargate detainees Marc Tarabella and Eva Kaili in the European Parliament.
