The truth about the EU's Qatargate scandal will 'explode', says former investigator

Michel Claes said that “everything is on file.” Photo: JM Quinet/Alamy Stock Photo

The truth about Qatargate corruption The scandal engulfing the European Union will one day «explode», says the former chief investigator.

Michel Claise, the Belgian judge who abandoned the investigation in earlier this year, suggested that unnamed individuals were trying to manipulate the truth.

“I never talk about the files I process,” he told Belgian broadcaster RTBF. “But I’ll tell you one thing — everything is in the works. The truth is there. It is not found anywhere, neither in television studios, nor in some magazines.

“And the truth will one day explode in the face of those manipulators who will try to very simply distort it.”

Mr Claise, who writes crime novels in his spare time, became involved in the investigation when Belgian security services handed him their findings into the corruption and bribery scandal that rocked the EU.

Three MEPs, a former MP and his parliamentary aide are accused of accepting bribes from Qatari and Moroccan officials in exchange for political support.

Police seized 1.5 million euros in cash, including a suitcase containing more than 750,000 euros, from a Brussels hotel.

Eva Kiley, former vice-president of the European Parliament, was arrested after investigators discovered €150,000 in her property. . Francesco Giorgi, her husband, was a parliamentary aide detained as part of the investigation.

Ms Kiley, who maintains her innocence of any wrongdoing, has since been released from prison while the investigation continues.

>Eva Kylie maintains her innocence of any wrongdoing. Photo: Independent Photo Agency Srl/Alamy Stock Photo

Mr Claise withdrew from the investigation in June, and refused to reveal whether he did so following death threats or the emergence of his son's business links with the son of Maria Arena, a Belgian MEP who is a suspect in this case.

In an interview, he said that another judge was placed in a shelter due to threats to his life.

“I’m not the only one who is haunted by this,” he added. “And it is extremely dangerous for democracy to at some point think that a judge should be shot when, in the end, we would be better off spending our time fighting criminal organizations. But I never feared for my integrity.”

MEPs are still coming to terms with the cash-for-influence scandal, nine months after it came to light.

MEPs are still coming to terms with the cash-for-influence scandal. p>

They failed to agree on a rule requiring them to disclose changes in assets, which is intended to close loopholes allegedly exploited by the Qatargate suspects.

Report published by Transparency International EU on this week, showed that the majority of members of the European Parliament do not declare their external interests. Of the 1,678 activities listed by MEPs, only 12 percent are businesses included in the EU transparency register.

The rule change will reduce the level of external income that an MEP must declare to €5,000 per year.

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