Time.news – “The reputation” of Antonio Panzeri “has been tarnished forever. The exposure given to this case is in itself a sanction”. He told Time.news attorney Laurent Kennes, Panzeri’s lawyer, commenting on the news of the agreement signed by the former MEP accused in the context of Qatargate, now considered a pentito under Belgian law. The document signed with the federal prosecutor’s office, as revealed by the same lawyer, contains “a five-year sentencebut with suspended sentence for the part exceeding one year”, but also one fine of 80 thousand euros and the seizure of one million euros to the ex exponent of the Democratic Party and of Article One.
“Based on the document signed today, the fine incurred by Panzeri” for the charges against him on Qatargate “will be effective but limited”. It is the same Belgian prosecutor who explains the terms of the agreement. For Panzeri, imprisonment, a fine and the confiscation of all the patrimonial benefits acquired, currently valued at one million euros, are envisaged. The former MEP pledged to cooperate with the Belgian authorities to whom he will provide all the information at his disposal on the case of alleged corruption in the European Parliament and money laundering of illicit origin. “It is the second time in Belgian judicial history, since the entry into force of the so-called “pentiti” law (with reference to the Italian law that allows investigations into mafias) that this procedure has ended with the signing of a memorandum”, reads in the prosecutor’s note.
In particular, Antonio Panzeri, “undertakes to inform the investigators and the judiciary on: the modus operandi, the financial agreements with third parties, the financial structures put in place, the beneficiaries of the structures put in place and the advantages offered, the involvement of people known or not yet known in the case, including the identities of the people he admits to bribing”.
Panzeri has been charged since 10 December 2022 for acts of participation in a criminal organization as head of that organization, but also for money laundering and active and passive public corruption.
The Belgian law on pentiti, applied through the agreement between former MEP Antonio Panzeri and the federal prosecutor in Brussels, is regulated by article 216 (paragraphs 1 to 8) of the Criminal Procedure Code. It provides that “if the needs of the investigation require it and if the other means of investigation do not seem sufficient to reveal the truth, the public prosecutor can make a promise in the context of the exercise of public action, the execution of the sentence or the detention to anyone who makes substantial, revealing, truthful and complete statements about the participation of third parties and, where applicable, their own participation, in relation to the crimes committed or attempted.
The promise of the power of attorney, which is specified in a memorandum signed with the defendant, can be revoked if the repentant does not respect the accepted conditions; if he is convicted by sentence or final judgment for crimes committed after the date of conclusion of the report; if he does not make the declarations foreseen in the note; if he does not compensate the damage; if he knowingly makes incomplete, insincere or undisclosing statements about the facts referred to; if, in order to obstruct the proceedings on the facts indicated, he tries to conceal evidence or to make agreements with third parties.