European Union lawmakers voted on Wednesday to replace a disgraced former parliament vice president after a key suspect in a the cash-for-influence scandal rocking the EU assembly made a plea bargain with prosecutors, raising the prospect of more people getting named.
Former European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili was removed from her post after she was taken into custody early last month on charges of corruption, money laundering and membership in a criminal organisation.
Lawmakers held a secret ballot in Strasbourg, France, to choose among three nominees for vice president. They picked Marc Angel of Luxembourg, who belongs to the same centre-left political group, the Socialist and Democrats (S and D) as Kaili.
The corruption scandal linked to Qatar and Morocco has ravaged the S and D group, the second-largest in the EU assembly.
Kaili was responsible for the Middle East, but Parliament President Roberta Metsola wants to appoint an anti-corruption vice president to repair the assembly's tarnished image. It's unclear whether Angel would be given such a portfolio.
Belgian prosecutors suspect that Kaili; former parliament member Pier Antonio Panzeri; Kaili's partner and Panzeri's friend Francesco Georgi; and Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, head of the charity group No Peace Without Justice, were paid by Qatar and Morocco to influence decision-making at the assembly. Both countries deny the allegations.
The federal prosecutor's office said Tuesday that Panzeri had agreed to become an informant and reveal more information about the scandal in exchange for a lighter sentence.
He's pledged to tell investigators the names of those involved and what financial arrangements were made with other countries.