Extradition decision to Belgium for suspect in Italy related to corruption investigation in EP
The Italian court accepted the extradition request from the Belgian authorities for Silvia Panzeri, the daughter of former EP parliamentarian Pier Antonio Panzeri, who is mentioned in the corruption investigation in the European Parliament, and who is accused of complicity in Italy.
According to the Italian channel Rainews24, Belgium's extradition request for Silvia Panzeri, the daughter of former parliamentarian Italian Pier Antonio Panzeri, who is at the center of the corruption investigation in the European Parliament (EP) carried out by the Belgian judicial authorities, who was accused of complicity, was decided in the appeal court in Brescia. It is stated that the court committee evaluated the response from the Belgian authorities in line with the request of Silvia Panzeri's lawyers to determine the prison conditions in Belgium, and decided to extradite Silvia Panzeri to this country.
It was reported in the press that the defense of Panzeri's lawyers that the information provided by the Belgian authorities was outdated was not accepted by the court and the extradition decision was issued. Silvia Panzeri has been under house arrest by the Italian security forces since 10 December, according to the information provided by the Belgian authorities. Last month, an extradition request came from Belgium for Silvia Panzeri's mother, Maria Dolores Colleoni, on a similar charge, and the Italian court accepted this request. In addition, Bergamo Preliminary Examining Judge had decided in December to freeze the bank accounts of Pier Antonio Panzeri and his daughter Silvia.
Within the framework of the EP-related corruption, bribery and money laundering investigation conducted by the Belgian authorities, searches were made at many points on December 9, 2022, 1.5 million euros in cash were seized and 4 people were detained.
The detainees are Greek MP Eva Kaili, whose EP vice presidency has been terminated, former Italian EP MP Pier Antonio Panzeri, Kaili's partner and EP assistant Francesco Giorgi, and Niccolo Figa, director of a non-governmental organization working on rule of law. It was announced that he was in Talaman. It was alleged that these people took bribes from a Gulf country to influence the economic and political decisions of the EP. Qatar, which was mentioned in the news on the subject, denied the allegations.
