Belgian authorities have indicted former MEP Marie Arena for alleged membership of a criminal organisation following a two-year investigation into “Qatargate”.
Following the unspecified date of indictment, Arena said in an interview with the daily La Libre Belgique on January 18 that the move proved she was not corrupt because she had not been charged with corruption or money laundering.
Despite Arena being named numerous times in the cash-for-influence scandal known as Qatargate, she said she spoke with investigating judge Aurélie Dejaiffe for the first time only on January 16. Dejaiffe is set to leave her position soon.
Lawyers for Arena had demanded that she be heard by the investigating judge, making it possible for them to have access to files regarding her case.
Michael Claise, the investigating judge leading the Qatargate inquiry, has had to disqualify himself due to a possible conflict of interest. https://t.co/OENNoZrfkq
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) June 20, 2023
“I am not charged with corruption. I am not charged with money laundering. I am only charged because I am a member of a ‘criminal organisation’,” Arena told La Libre Belgique.
“For two years, I saw my name smeared and thrown around in the press with accusations about gifts that I allegedly received in exchange for favours – because that’s what corruption is all about – and in the end, the judge didn’t accept any of that.
“No corruption as far as I am concerned. I have been charged with a pseudo-offence in an attempt to cover up two years of negligence on the part of the justice system, after two years of legal and media lynching,” she said.
Asked if the criminal indictment was not a problem, Arena replied: “I have not been provided with any evidence, or even clues that justify this indictment. In reality, there’s nothing to reproach me for.
“The investigating judge has confirmed that I was not corrupt, that I was not laundering money in a case where everything revolves around that.
“In fact, I am charged because I know other people who are themselves charged with corruption. To be linked to a criminal organisation, one must have knowledge of criminal activities and, I swear to you, that this was completely unthinkable for me.
“That’s where the paradox lies.”
Her lawyers told La Libre Belgique that it was a “minimal indictment, done quietly”.
“If our client had been heard two years ago, as we had requested, there probably wouldn’t have been any indictment at all. Today, we will finally get to review the case file, and we will fight for a public trial that will lead to Marie Arena’s complete acquittal,” they added.
In November 2023, Belgian media had reported that a police document contained interactions by phone and text between Arena and Antonio Panzeri, the key suspect in the cash-for-influence Qatargate investigation.
That police report allegedly connected Arena with public corruption, criminal organisation and money laundering.
She also was alleged to have received jewellery, gifts and handled what appeared to be large sums of money. Panzeri, it seemed, thanked her for “collecting” such money.
Arena has now told La Libre that she did not receive “a watch nor any jewellery or anything else at all, ever”.
“If I am not charged with corruption, it is not out of politeness to me, but because I have done nothing. The information provided by the State Security was therefore erroneous,” she said.
Her lawyers claimed: “State Security filtered and interpreted information before passing it to the police, who then further curated what was sent to the investigating judge. In certain recordings, references to ‘she’ were automatically attributed to Marie Arena, despite a lack of conclusive evidence.”
Arena said: “Since the beginning of this investigation, my person has been targeted by mistake and my name has become a trophy.
“I am angry with the justice system and I wonder about the leaks organised against me for two years.”
Regarding her son, where police investigators raided his apartment and confiscated €280,000 in cash, she said: “This does not concern me, and therefore I have no answer to provide. What I can tell you is that my fingerprints were taken during my police interview.
“The objective was undoubtedly to see if they appeared anywhere. This is clearly not the case.
“Regarding my indictment, I will not flee from justice, because I am confident and have nothing to reproach myself for. I sincerely hope that a trial will be held,” she added.
“I don’t want a trial to be avoided due to procedural issues – I want my innocence to be recognised and I won’t hesitate to expose the numerous flaws in the investigation.”
Just over €280,000 in cash was discovered during a police raid at the home of the son of Belgian MEP Marie Arena. https://t.co/ug0Iw4oyW0
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 30, 2023
A spokesperson for the Socialist Party (PS), for which Arena was an MEP and a minister previously, told Belgian media she was no longer a member of the party and had no more ties with it.
That meant its ethics body cannot be asked to examine the case. “It is up to the justice system to decide,” the spokesperson said.
Brussels Signal reached out to the Belgian public prosecutor for comment but at the time of writing had not received any. Arena’s previous e-mail is no longer active.
The #Qatargate scandal engulfing Europe took a murky turn on Tuesday after the emergence of a photo showing what appeared to be an intimate embrace between the investigators’ main witness and a Belgian Socialist MEP. https://t.co/0sRpvtRy0R
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) June 21, 2023
