CARTOON: "MONEY TALKS"First
published in De Volkskrant, the Netherlands, December 22, 2022 | By Schot
The Moroccan spy at the heart of the Qatar
investigation
One shadowy figure in the Qatar corruption scandal is
a Moroccan spy, who was reportedly known to French and Spanish authorities.
Belahrech seems at the center of an intricate web that
extends from Qatar and Morocco to Italy, Poland and Belgium |
BY CLEA
CAULCUTT AND ELISA BRAUN
DECEMBER
24, 2022 4:00 AM CET
PARIS — A
Moroccan secret service agent, identified as Mohamed Belahrech, has emerged as
one of the key operators in the Qatar corruption scandal that has shaken the
foundations of the European Parliament. His codename is M118, and he’s been
running circles around European spy agencies for years.
Belahrech
seems at the center of an intricate web that extends from Qatar and Morocco to
Italy, Poland and Belgium. He is suspected of having been engaged in intense
lobbying efforts and alleged corruption targeting European MEPs in recent
years. And it turns out he’s been known to European intelligence services for
some time.
Rabat is
increasingly in the spotlight, as focus widens beyond the role of Qatar in the
corruption allegations of European MEPs, which saw Belgian police seizing
equipment and more than €1.5 million in cash in raids across at least 20 homes
and offices.
Belgian
Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne last week provided a scarcely veiled
indication that Morocco was involved in the probe. Speaking to Belgian
lawmakers, he referred to “a country that in recent years has already been
mentioned … when it comes to interference.” This is understood to refer to
Morocco, since Rabat’s security service has been accused of espionage in
Belgium, where there is a large diaspora of Moroccans.
According
to Italian daily La Repubblica and the Belgian Le Soir, Belahrech is one of the
links connecting former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri to the Moroccan secret
service, the DGED. The Italian politician Panzeri is now in jail, facing
preliminary charges of corruption in the investigation as to whether Morocco
and Qatar bought influence in the European Parliament.
In a cache
of Moroccan diplomatic cables leaked by a hacker in 2014 and 2015 (and seen by
POLITICO), Panzeri is described as “a close friend” of Morocco, “an influential
ally” who is “capable of fighting the growing activism of our enemies at the
European Parliament.”
Investigators
are now looking at just how close a friend Panzeri was to Morocco. The Belgian
extradition request for Panzeri’s wife and daughter, who are also allegedly
involved in the corruption scandal, mentions “gifts” from Abderrahim Atmoun,
Morocco’s ambassador to Warsaw.
For several
years, Panzeri shared the presidency of the joint EU-Morocco parliamentary
committee with Atmoun, a seasoned diplomat keen on promoting Morocco’s
interests in the Brussels bubble.
But it’s
now suspected that Atmoun was taking orders from Belahrech, who is “a dangerous
man,” an official with knowledge of the investigation said to Le Soir. It’s
under Belahrech’s watch that Panzeri reportedly sealed his association with
Morocco’s DGED after failing to get reelected to the Parliament in 2019.
Belharech
may also be the key to unraveling one of the lingering mysteries of the Qatar
scandal: the money trail. A Belgian extradition request seen by POLITICO refers
to an enigmatic character linked to a credit card given to Panzeri’s relatives
— who is known as “the giant.” Speculation is swirling as to whether Belahrech
could be this giant.
The many lives of a Moroccan spy
Belahrech
is no newbie in European spy circles — media reports trace his presence back to
several espionage cases over the past decade.
The man
from Rabat first caught the authorities’ attention in connection to alleged
infiltration of Spanish mosques, which in 2013 resulted in the deportation of
the Moroccan director of an Islamic organization in Catalonia, according to
Spanish daily El Confidencial.
Belahrech
was allegedly in charge of running agents in the mosques at the behest of the
DGED, while his wife was suspected of money laundering via a Spain-based travel
agency. The network was dismantled in 2015, according to El Mundo.
Not long
after, Belahrech reemerged in France, where he played a leading role in a
corruption case at Orly airport in Paris.
A Moroccan
agent, identified at the time as Mohamed B., allegedly obtained up to 200
confidential files on terrorism suspects in France from a French border
officer, according to an investigation published in Libération.
The
officer, who was detained and put under formal investigation in 2017, allegedly
provided confidential material regarding individuals on terrorist watchlists — and
possible people of interest transiting through the airport — to the Moroccan
agent in exchange for four-star holidays in Morocco.
French
authorities reportedly did not press charges against Belahrech, who disappeared
when his network was busted. According to a French official with knowledge of
the investigation, Belahrech was cooperating with France at the time by
providing intelligence on counterterrorism matters, and was let off for this
reason.
Moroccan
secret service agents may act as intelligence providers for European agencies
while simultaneously coordinating influence operations in those same countries,
two people familiar with intelligence services coordination told POLITICO. For
that reason, European countries sometimes turn a blind eye to practices that
could be qualified as interference, they added, so long as this remains
unobtrusive.
Contacted,
the intelligence services of France, Spain and Morocco did not immediately
reply to a request for comment.
As to
Belahrech: Five years after his foray in France, the mysterious M118 is back in
the spotlight — raising questions over his ongoing relationship with European
intelligence networks.
Hannah
Roberts contributed to reporting.
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