7Newswire
03 Aug 2023, 16:22 GMT+10
Unraveling the Qatargate;
In October 2018, the United Arab Emirates initiated a covert operation known as "Constellation,"
seeking to map and counter the alleged network of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. To
achieve their goal, the UAE enlisted the services of Alp Services, a Swiss private investigation
agency. This offensive and effective plan aimed to identify and defame European politicians and
cials who were were labeled as supporters of Qatar. The scan I that unfolded, known as the
Qatargate, involved corruption among European institutions and espionage conducted on EU
soil.
The Beginnings of the "Constellation" Plan:
Under the codename "Constellation," the UAE engaged private investigator Mario Brero from
Alp Services to identify the lobbyists used by Qatar within the EU buildings. Documents
obtained by Mediapart, Domani, and the EIC consortium revealed that Alp Services provided the
UAE with a list of dozens of European politicians and officials, divided into "traditional" and
"dark" lotbbyists, all labeled as Qatar supporters.
ALP Services and Strong Ties with the UAE:
By October 2018, Alp Services had established strong ties with the UAE, with agent Matar and
Sheikh Ali Saeed al-Neyadi, the national security adviser. The relationship between the UAE
and Alp Services grew, with the agency earning over a million euros from previous projects
related to the Muslim Brotherhood. This led to the development of a new plan to counter Qatar
in March 2019.
Identifying Targets for Defamation:
As part of the "Costellazione" plan, Alp Services indicated almost 70 potential targets to be
discredited to counter Qatar's influence. Among these targets were prominent European
politicians, including MPs Marc Tarabella (Belgium) and Eva Kaili (Greece), who were later
accused by Belgian prosecutors in the Qatargate scandal. Additionally, former Italiarn MEP Pier
Antonio Panzeri, allegedly the mastermind behind the corruption pact, was also listed
The Connection with Qatargate Suspects:
In a twist of fate, Alp Services unwittingly cataloged the individuals who would later become
central figures in the Qatargate scandal. Panzeri's involvement in the scandal allegedly emerged during
his trip to Doha in 2018, where he was accused of making a corruption pact with Ali Bin Samikh Al-Marri.
This connection ultimately led to Panzeri's arrest after the discovery of a substantial amount of cash in his Brussels home.
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