The lawyer, Maxim Töller, representing MEP Marc Tarabella, recently appeared on Bel RTL matin where he discussed his client’s upcoming release from prison. Following yesterday’s decision by Belgian justice to release Tarabella from prison and place him under house arrest under electronic surveillance, Töller commented on the ongoing “Qatargate” corruption investigation.
The “repentant”, Antonio Panzeri, has alleged that he paid Tarabella 120,000 to 140,000 euros, but Töller declined to comment on the case and stressed the importance of respecting the secrecy of the investigation and the presumption of innocence. He did warn, however, that Panzeri’s testimony must be viewed with caution, given his status as an informant who may have been incentivized to provide information, and stressed the need for further evidence to support any claims made against Tarabella.
Töller acknowledged that no money has been discovered in any of Tarabella’s personal or professional accounts, nor during searches at any of the properties linked to him. He also stated that experts had been examining Tarabella’s accounts and financial behavior over the past six years, and that their findings would be submitted as evidence in his defense.
The lawyer of the MEP Marc Tarabella, Maxim Töller, was the guest of Bel RTL matin. At Antonio Solimando’s microphone, he commented on the politician’s upcoming release from prison.
Belgian justice yesterday decided the release from prison and house arrest under electronic bracelet of MEP Marc Tarabella, one of the main suspects in the so-called “Qatargate” corruption investigation.
The “repentant”, Antonio Panzeri, said he paid 120,000 to 140,000 euros to the MEP. His lawyer explains that he cannot comment on the elements of the file “to respect the secrecy of the investigation and the presumption of innocence”. He adds : “there are elements in the file which raise questions, it is necessary to know how to say it. Mr. Panzeri thought he had to say certain things. When you have a penitent, that is to say someone to whom you give something in exchange for words and above all who would be sanctioned if he had to go back on what he said, obviously his word must be taken with tweezers. This is also what the law says, we cannot take what Mr. Panzeri says without it being backed up by other elements of another nature in the context of the file and that is investigation and the instruction to demonstrate if we manage to find other overwhelming elements for Mr. Tarabella, I doubt it”.
The lawyer recalls that at this stage “we never found any money, any euro at Mr. Tarabella’s or at all the places where a search took place. There is no trace of this money”. “We used an expert to analyze its accounts and its financial behavior over the past six years, we filed this expertise and another expertise is in progress to verify these elements. We believe that we have enough elements to demonstrate that there is no parachuting of cash in his way of life over the last six years”.
In conclusion, the release of MEP Marc Tarabella from prison and his subsequent house arrest comes as a relief to his lawyer, Maxim Töller. Töller remains confident in his client’s innocence, citing the lack of evidence to support the allegations of corruption. Despite the statement of the “repentant,” Antonio Panzeri, the lawyer emphasizes the need for corroborating evidence before any action can be taken. The ongoing investigation and expertise into Tarabella’s financial behavior will hopefully clear his name and put an end to the “Qatargate” scandal.