Morocco tried to bribe MEPs to obtain information about a European parliament inquiry into its use of Pegasus spyware, Belgian prosecutors believe.
Morocco’s intelligence agency allegedly made payments after it was accused of using the Israeli hacking tool to spy on President Macron and French government ministers.
The claims, which were made in Belgian prosecution documents seen by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, add to the “Qatargate” scandal in which four people have been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes after police found hidden sacks of cash.
So far the scandal has focused on allegations that Qatar paid bribes to MEPs to soften the EU stance on its human rights record, an accusation denied by the Gulf state.
The new report suggests Morocco was also handing over money in return for inside information on a EU parliamentary commission set up in March to investigate its use of Pegasus, spyware which can be secretly installed on a target’s phone to access its contents.
Claude Mangin, a French citizen whose political activist husband is jailed in Morocco, was allegedly spied on alongside French politicians.
The Belgian prosecutor’s report indicates that the Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino was one of Morocco’s contacts on the commission. Cozzolino’s parliament assistant, Francesco Giorgi, is among those under arrest on suspicion of taking bribes.
Others arrested include the European parliament vice-president Eva Kaili, who is Giorgi’s partner, and the former MEP Antonio Panzeri.
During the arrests police found €1.5 million in cash. Cozzolino, who has denied all wrongdoing and is not officially under investigation, said this week he was frustrated with continuing media reports of his involvement in the scandal and wanted to meet Belgian prosecutors to clear his name.
The Belgian prosecutors’ report said Morocco’s moles on the commission “were more than prudent and worked in a discrete way, avoiding appearing too pro-Moroccan at the parliament”. They also communicated with each other in code, the report stated.
Morocco has yet to deny allegations of involvement in the scandal.