A serious commerce union group has fired its basic secretary after he admitted accepting donations from a suspect in a European cash-for-influence scandal
BRUSSELS — A company representing commerce unions world wide has fired its basic secretary after he admitted accepting donations from a suspect in a serious European cash-for-influence scandal, saying that the affair has severely broken its repute.
The Worldwide Commerce Union Confederation, which claims to signify round 200 million staff worldwide, stated in a press release issued after a weekend assembly that “Luca Visentini now not had the arrogance of the Common Council as ITUC Common Secretary.”
Visentini was named to the put up in November however was suspended the next month after he was taken into custody by Belgian prosecutors investigating whether or not a legal group had accepted bribes from representatives from Qatar and Morocco to affect selections on the European Parliament.
Visentini was not charged within the affair and denies involvement in any corruption, however was suspended by ITUC after he was taken into custody. He has admitted accepting a donation from a charity group arrange by the person on the middle of the scandal, Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former European Union lawmaker.
ITUC’s public affairs workplace refused to answer to emails or settle for cellphone calls from reporters within the weeks after Belgian prosecutors launched a number of raids in Brussels in December, seizing tons of of hundreds of euros in money.
“The occasions of the previous few months have prompted important injury to the ITUC’s repute,” Akiko Gono, the confederation’s president, stated within the assertion, posted on its web site Saturday. ITUC says it has 332 affiliated organizations in 163 international locations and territories.
A particular fee set as much as examine the allegations towards Visentini “discovered no proof of donations from both Qatar or Morocco influencing the ITUC’s insurance policies or program,” the group stated. The assertion stated “a unprecedented ITUC World Congress” can be organized quickly to call Visentini’s everlasting successor.
Panzeri, an Italian nationwide, and three others had been charged with corruption, cash laundering and membership of a legal group over what’s the EU parliament’s greatest corruption scandal. He lately reached an settlement with prosecutors, promising to call names and spell out how the bribes had been paid in alternate for a lighter sentence.