{"id":2401,"date":"2017-03-23T15:13:32","date_gmt":"2017-03-23T15:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/covcasbulletin.info\/?p=2401"},"modified":"2017-03-24T15:33:38","modified_gmt":"2017-03-24T15:33:38","slug":"council-of-europe-plagued-by-caviar-diplomacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/covcasbulletin.info\/?p=2401","title":{"rendered":"Council of Europe plagued by \u2018caviar diplomacy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By CLAUDIA VON SALZEN
\nTranslated by Sam Morgan
\nDer Tagesspiegel \/ Euractiv
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

A corruption scandal involving payments running into millions of euros has rocked the Council of Europe. But details are still hard to come by and the organisation seems unwilling to delve deeper into the matter. EURACTIV\u2019s partner Der Tagesspiegel reports<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The biggest scandal in the history of the Council of Europe would probably have never come to light if two suspicious bank transfers hadn\u2019t been noticed in a Milanese money house.<\/p>\n

Those six-figure transfers were made through banks in the Baltic by shell companies based in the United Kingdom and the Marshall Islands. Milan\u2019s public prosecutor took on the case and what emerged was politically explosive.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Luca Volont\u00e8. Photo by Vano Shlamov\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Officially, the company that received the money belonged to the wife of an Italian politician. Luca Volont\u00e8 received a total of \u20ac2.39 million between the end of 2012 and the end of 2014.<\/p>\n

Investigators established that the money was being sent by Azerbaijan and Volont\u00e8 is due in court next month to answer charges of money laundering.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors are also looking into if those payments are linked at all to Volont\u00e8\u2019s work as a member of the Council of Europe\u2019s parliamentary assembly (PACE).<\/p>\n

The Council of Europe is the guardian of human rights and democracy for its 47 member states, which include Russia and Turkey. Each country appoints representatives to PACE, which meets four times a year in Strasbourg.<\/p>\n

Many Western European states show little interest in the institution but Azerbaijan has expended a lot of effort trying to prevent the Council from condemning its human rights situation.<\/p>\n

Its politicians celebrated a small victory in January 2013 when a resolution by German Christoph Str\u00e4sser about political prisoners in Azerbaijan was surprisingly voted down by the Council.<\/p>\n

For years, there have been indications that it isn\u2019t just lobbying that has played a role and that \u201ccaviar diplomacy\u201d has been at play.<\/p>\n

But in Volont\u00e8\u2019s case, the problem goes deeper than just fish eggs and expensive carpets. The Italian has admitted to receiving \u20ac2.39 million but denies that the money was connected to his activities with the Council.<\/p>\n

Volont\u00e8 told Italian broadcaster RAI that the money originated from Azerbaijani politician Elkhan Suleymanov.<\/p>\n

It all started for Luca Volont\u00e8 with a trip to Azerbaijan in July 2011. His secretary told Der Tagesspiegel that he flew business class because Suleymanov was footing the bill. On his return, he wrote an email of thanks to his Azerbaijani colleague, lauding their \u201cgrowing\u201d friendship and \u201cprecious gifts\u201d.<\/p>\n

They stayed in contact and Volont\u00e8 even shared his thoughts on how to improve Azerbaijan\u2019s image on the world stage. When in May 2012 the European Stability Initiative (ESI) published a report about \u201ccaviar diplomacy\u201d, causing a stir in the Council of Europe, Volont\u00e8 stressed in an internal note that there was \u201cno evidence of corruption\u201d.<\/p>\n

In December 2012, a few weeks before the vote on the resolution, Volont\u00e8 sent an email to Azerbaijani lobbyist Muslum Mammadov, detailing which \u201cfriends\u201d they could count on when it came to the debate.<\/p>\n

The people mentioned spoke unusually positive about the South Caucasus republic, including current PACE President Pedro Agramunt.<\/p>\n

In December, Volont\u00e8 received his first payment from a company headquartered in the UK, via an Estonian bank account. Effort had clearly been spent to conceal the fact the money came from Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n

After the Str\u00e4sser-resolution was defeated, Volont\u00e8 seemed to fear that the lucrative friendship was at an end. \u201cSo you\u2019ve forgotten me after your victory\u2026\u201d, he wrote to Suleymanov. A short time later he proposed a new resolution on political prisoners, which he promptly withdrew a few days later.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery wish from you is a command\u201d, he later wrote to middleman Mammadov. Further talks were then held in Baku with Suleymanov and Russian politician Alexei Pushkov.<\/p>\n

The friendship paid off for Volont\u00e8. By his own account he received \u20ac10 million over the course of ten years. So far though the money has been frozen by Milanese prosecutors. But Volont\u00e8 will not stand trial on corruption charges, instead, he will appear in court accused of money laundering.<\/p>\n

The story could have petered out there, if it was just a matter of alleged misconduct by politicians. But deputy leader of Germany\u2019s Council delegation Frank Schwabe (SPD) fears that the scandal may go far deeper.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is the suspicion that the corruption has a larger scope and it is not just Volont\u00e8 involved,\u201d he warned. \u201cThe Parliamentary Assembly has to do everything possible to clarify this.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to research carried out by Der Tagesspiegel, there is evidence that only a part of the scandals have been unearthed. Payments to Volont\u00e8 were from 2014 handled by Hilux Services LP, an offshore company based in Glasgow.<\/p>\n

Its owners are two companies based in the Virgin Islands. The same people that registered the company in March 2013 set up at least 12 other offshore firms with the same address at the same time.<\/p>\n

The Estonian account of Hilux Services received nearly \u20ac1 billion between the end of 2013 and end of 2014 from Azerbaijani company Baktelecom. This sum and the company network suggest that a largest apparatus is in place, which serves to do more than just pay one politician.<\/p>\n

But efforts to shine light on this matter have been sluggish at best. Only politicians from Azerbaijan\u2019s neighbour and rival, Armenia, have tried to raise the issue in plenary. Council President Agramunt cut them off though.<\/p>\n

But in January, cross-border and cross-party support was secured at the Strasbourg plenary session and 64 lawmakers called for an independent investigation into the scandal.<\/p>\n

There are now concerns about the credibility of the Council. \u201cThe Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is there to stand up to those who abuse human rights,\u201d said Estonian politician Eerik-Niiles Kross, one of the 64 that supported the resolution. \u201cIf this organisation is discredited, then it is not just bad for the Council of Europe, it is bad for the entire European idea,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just Azerbaijan that is implicated. \u201cIn the meantime, a network in the Council has sprung up, of countries with authoritarian tendencies, that protects them from critical opinions,\u201d Schwabe said. A debate on the human rights situation in Turkey already fell by the wayside because of this.<\/p>\n

ESI Chairman Gerald Knaus hopes that the Volont\u00e8 affair will cause waves: \u201cIf an MP can wire hundreds of thousands of euros without there being an independent investigation, then the Council of Europe is just a bazaar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now there is evidence of what he and his organisation have been warning about for some time. \u201cIt now shows how corrupted the organisation has been for a number of years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those in the Council seeking answers have been met with resistance though. Agramunt is looking to downplay the matter and has spoken about \u201cunlawful attacks on the honour and reputation of a person\u201d.<\/p>\n

The PACE president has already deferred a decision on an independent investigation. Now the Council\u2019s group leaders will have to submit a proposal.<\/p>\n

A crucial role is being played by the leader of Germany\u2019s delegation, Axel Fischer (CDU), because he is also chairman of the EPP group, to which Volont\u00e8 belonged.<\/p>\n

But Fischer is not among those that are actively seeking clarity on the matter and has been sympathetic to Volont\u00e8\u2019s version of events.<\/p>\n

After learning of the allegations of corruption, he called for a register of non-governmental organisations, which would detail their finances. This initiative, which clearly targets outfits like the ESI, resembles Russia\u2019s much-criticised \u201cforeign agents\u201d law.<\/p>\n

When asked by Der Tagesspiegel about the Volont\u00e8 affair, Fischer declined to comment, insisting that he does not want to prejudice the outcome of the case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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