Belgium quizzes Moroccan officials in Qatargate probe

11 months ago 32

Several Moroccan officials have been questioned as part of a high-profile investigation into alleged bribery by the north African state and Qatar at the European Parliament, Belgian prosecutors said Saturday (16 December).

The interviews in Morocco — conducted by local authorities in the presence of Belgian investigators — were the first in the country since Brussels launched a sprawling graft probe in 2022.

“Belgian investigators travelled to Morocco this week, along with the examining magistrate and a magistrate from the federal public prosecutor’s office, for investigative duties and interviews,” a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office told AFP.

The spokesman refused to give the identities of those interviewed.

But the RTBF news channel and Le Soir newspaper reported that one of the people questioned was Morocco’s ambassador to Poland, Abderrahim Atmoun.

The 68-year-old diplomat is suspected of having played a pivotal role in helping to funnel money to pay off European legislators.

The so-called “Qatargate” scandal — which rocked the EU’s governing institutions — focuses on purported attempts by foreign governments to buy influence at the European Parliaments.

Three EU lawmakers have been arrested in the investigation that saw police raids in December 2022 uncover some 1.5 million euros in cash at a string of addresses in Brussels.

Both Morocco and Qatar strongly deny involvement in any wrongdoing.

Despite the denials from Rabat and Doha, Belgian investigators have been interested in several officials from the two countries.

Belgium at one stage issued an arrest warrant for Qatar’s works minister Ali bin Samikh al-Marri.

But the warrant was rescinded by Brussels in May as part of attempts to get Qatar to help facilitate the release of a Belgian citizen held prisoner in Iran.

The Brief – Qatar, the cunning state

Some countries are called “cunning states”. Cunning means the quality or skill of being clever at planning something to reach your goals, even by tricking others. Qatar is often referred to as a “cunning state”.