The investigation into corruption in the European Parliament continues to make waves. Italian trade unionist Luca Visentini was swept away on Saturday after the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) dismissed him as general secretary.

The ITUC General Council decided that it "no longer had its confidence". An "Extraordinary World Congress" will be held "as soon as possible to elect a new Secretary General," the statement said.

"We are determined to protect the ITUC from any form of undue influence, and even any suspicion of influence," said Akiko Gono, the organization's president. The ITUC, which brings together 338 unions around the world, assures, however, "having found no evidence of donations from Qatar or Morocco influencing its policies or programmes".


A cash payment that questions

Luca Visentini was arrested in December in the Belgian investigation into suspected corruption of MEPs involving Qatar and Morocco, then released on conditions after two days in police custody. The Italian had admitted to having received a cash payment "of less than 50,000 euros" from the NGO Fight Impunity, led by former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, considered one of the key suspects in the case.

Visentini had assured, however, that this donation was not linked to any attempt of corruption or influence peddling for the benefit of Qatar, but that it was intended to reimburse some costs generated by his campaign to take the head of the ITUC. Three people are currently in pre-trial detention in Belgium as part of the investigation.

During a first wave of arrests and searches on December 9 in Brussels, investigators had found 1.5 million euros in cash distributed in bags or suitcases. Qatar and Morocco have strongly denied corruption over the past three months.

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