Global Courant
ATHENS
Italian European MP Andrea Cozzolino has been released on parole after being accused of corruption, local media reported in Italy on Wednesday.
European Parliament member Cozzolino denied the charges while being questioned by police on Monday. According to public broadcaster RaiNews, Cozzolino’s lawyers later said a Belgian judge had ordered his release.
RaiNews added that his release was subject to certain conditions, including no contact with other suspects in the scandal and prior notice of his travels outside of Belgium.
Cozzolino was held in precautionary detention for more than four months at his home in southern Italy. Prior to his detention, he was held in police custody in Naples under a European arrest warrant issued by then investigating judge Michel Claise.
The socialist lawmaker traveled to Brussels on Monday to be questioned after his house arrest was lifted.
– Corruption scandal
The EU has been rocked by one of the biggest corruption scandals in its history, after the Greek MP of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, was arrested on corruption charges by Belgian police on 9 December.
Kaili, 44, from Greece’s centre-left party PASOK-KINAL and one of the 14 vice-presidents of the European Parliament, was arrested after his home was searched on alleged corruption charges related to Qatar, accused of paying Kaili to lobby for the interests of the Gulf state. .
In addition, up to 1.5 million euros ($1.62 million) in cash was seized by Belgian police during dozens of home and office searches. In addition, parliamentary computers were confiscated in order to protect important data.
Among those detained along with Kaili are Italian MP Pier Antonio Panzeri, Kaili’s partner Francesco Giorgi, who works as an assistant in the European Parliament, and Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, head of the non-governmental organization working on the rule of law. ‘
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