16 Facts About Antonio Panzeri

Pier Antonio Panzeri was born on 6 June 1955 and is an Italian politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 until 2019.

In December 2022, in connection with the Qatar corruption scandal at the European Parliament, Panzeri was arrested and charged with corruption, money laundering and directing a criminal organisation.

From 1996 until 2003, Antonio Panzeri worked with the city authorities of Milan, Barcelona, and Frankfurt, in the context of an international project to compare experiences regarding economic development, immigration and welfare, and to devise a future European municipality model.

Antonio Panzeri attended the General Assembly of the United Nations as an observer for Israeli-Palestinian issues.

Antonio Panzeri became a Member of the European Parliament in the 2004 elections when he represented the Democrats of the Left in the North-West constituency.

Antonio Panzeri later represented the Democratic Party and Article One.

From 2009 until 2019, Antonio Panzeri served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Antonio Panzeri was previously a member of the delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and for relations with the United States.

Antonio Panzeri was a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Integrity and of the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights.

Antonio Panzeri was part of the Elie Wiesel Network of Parliamentarians for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities and against Genocide Denial.

In September 2019, Antonio Panzeri founded a human rights NGO in Brussels, Fight Impunity.

Antonio Panzeri came under suspicion in 2021 when the Belgian secret service began a corruption probe that would later become known as Qatargate.

Antonio Panzeri was arrested on the morning of 9 December 2022 as Belgian police conducted a series of raids in Brussels.

Antonio Panzeri was charged with corruption, money laundering and directing a criminal organisation and detained in Saint-Gilles Prison in Brussels.

Antonio Panzeri initially denied that he had been involved in corruption, saying that he had simply been paid for lobbying and had not declared the cash as Qatar wanted it kept quiet.

Antonio Panzeri revealed to the authorities that he had received money from Mauritania, as well as Morocco and Qatar.