Morocco’s Involvement In The Corruption Of The European Parliament Returns To The Fore

An investigation by Belgian intelligence into the Moroccan regime’s political corruption scandals at the level of the European Parliament revealed how the Alawite kingdom, in collaboration with a network of European spies and agents, worked to attack Algerian interests and try to undermine its relations with Brussels in exchange for preventing the adoption of any resolution condemning the human rights situation in Morocco. .
The investigation was the focus of a lengthy article published by the newspaper “Politico”, which was also supplemented by reports issued by the Belgian police, in connection with the scandal of the purchase of the claims of European representatives, known as the “Morocco Gate” case, which was the reason for the trial of the Moroccan diplomat and ambassador to the Republic of Poland, Abderrahim Othmoun. Lists of people wanted by Belgian and European justice after the fall of the spy network led by former Italian deputy Antonio Panzeri.
According to Politico, “Panzri played an active role in influencing votes against Moroccan activists who were shortlisted for the European Parliament’s prestigious Sakharov Prize for human rights. Panzri’s assistant, Giorgi, said that he and his boss sent information to Abderrahim Othmoun that included passing a resolution targeting Algeria and making sure that any mention of Morocco disappeared from the Parliament’s report on human rights violations.”
Othmoun, against whom a European arrest warrant has been issued – as seen by Politico – was only able to recruit the network of European parliamentarians thanks to the money allocated to him by the Moroccan authorities to bribe members of the European Parliament in order to prevent them from voting on decisions that could be against Moroccan interests, or from adopting decisions that would “have to be against Moroccan interests, except when it comes to improving the image of the regime in Rabat”.
According to the same source, “the investigating judge in the case asked the French authorities to seize Othmoun’s assets in France, where he owns a hotel and an apartment. It should be noted that Othmoun, who is also a French citizen, has disappeared and is believed to have returned to Morocco and is beyond the reach of the Union’s authorities.” European Union, according to a Belgian intelligence report.
The newspaper notes that the “money-for-influence scandal” began with a partnership between Othmoun, Pier Antonio Panzeri, who was then a member of the European Parliament and head of its subcommittee on human rights, and Andrea Cozzolino, another parliamentarian, noting that Panzeri concluded a plea deal with investigators In which he participated in corruption activities with Morocco.
As for the controversial figure of Moroccan diplomat Abderrahim Othmoun, he studied in France and speaks French, Arabic, English and Italian. According to his arrest warrant, according to Politico, he enjoys a successful career in Paris as head of the friendship group between Morocco and the French Senate. He was close to the elite of the French elite, which allowed him to receive in 2011 the Legion of Honor, one of the highest honors in France, presented to him by the former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, against whom many judicial decisions were issued in corruption cases, condemning him to prison.
The newspaper says that Othmoun was ambitious and had his eyes set on a prestigious position, such as ambassador to Rome or Paris, according to two people who have known him for a decade and who declined to reveal their identities for fear of reprisals.
Regarding the background of the Moroccan regime’s involvement in the European Parliament bribery scandal, Politico says that officials of the Alawite kingdom had their eyes opened to the importance of the European Parliament after the Lisbon Treaty, which gave this European institution an important role in legislation and the formation of the European Commission.
The newspaper writes: “Morocco’s diplomacy focused mainly on French lawmakers, but it was unable to reach the European Union Parliament through them,” according to a lobbyist who worked with Othmoun at the time and who refused to reveal his identity, but that the adventurous Moroccan diplomat found what he was looking for in Panzeri.
The Moroccan regime saw the Italian MEP as someone who could be either a “heavy ally” or a “formidable adversary,” according to a 2011 Moroccan diplomatic cable included in a 2014 hack of government documents documented by French media. It wasn’t long, the source adds, before Othmoun and Banzri were working together as co-chairs of the Morocco-European Union Joint Parliamentary Committee, a gathering of lawmakers from both sides of the Mediterranean.
The leaked cables praise the “fantastic behind-the-scenes work … done by co-chairs Panziri and Othman to mobilize as many MEPs as possible in the joint group, especially the Italians, on a wide range of issues important to the Alawite regime in Rabat. .
In his confession to investigators after his arrest, Panzeri explained in detail how Othmoun offered him financial support for his 2014 election campaign. The diplomat, according to the same source, covered the costs of a party held in Milan to obtain the votes of the Moroccan diaspora with more than 50 thousand euros, and Panzeri’s family members were invited to visit Marrakesh, where they were accommodated in the five-star hotel “La Mamounia”.