WORLD NEWS | Italian court to hear plea of ​​second suspect in EU scandal

BRESIA, Dec. 20 (AP) – An Italian court was hearing an appeal Tuesday against the handover of a woman to Belgium facing charges along with her parents in an influence-peddling scandal in the European Parliament.

Lawyer Sylvia Panzeri is wanted on charges of involvement in a Brussels crime group, corruption and money laundering.

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Panzeri, 38, the daughter of former EU deputy representative Antonio Panzeri, was arrested in Brussels along with three other suspects, a day after an Italian judge ordered Maria Dolores Colleoni to be handed over to Belgian authorities, citing her role in the management of the arrests from Qatar and Moroccan gifts come into play.

Antonio Panzeri and three others were charged Dec. 9 with corruption, participation in a criminal group and money laundering.

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Belgian prosecutors are investigating whether they “received large sums of money or made large gifts to influence parliamentary decisions”.

Allegations that cash and gifts were exchanged for political influence are at the heart of one of the biggest scandals in the European Parliament.

Lawmakers last week suspended work on Qatar-related papers and vowed to strengthen lobbying laws.

Qatar has vehemently denied its involvement.

Morocco’s foreign ministry declined to comment on Tuesday.

Panzeri and her mother face five years in prison if found guilty of participating in a criminal group, corruption and money laundering, according to the arrest warrant. Both are under house arrest at their homes near Bergamo.

Speaking in court Monday, Colleoni denied the allegations contained in the arrest warrant seen by The Associated Press.

After five hours of deliberation, the judges made a detailed decision to hand her over at the request of Belgian authorities.

Her lawyers are considering an appeal to Italy’s highest court, which must be filed within five days of the verdict.

The court will then have 10 days to make a decision. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)