PACE Independent External Investigation Body released a report on the allegations of corruption within the Assembly

On 22 April, the Independent Investigation Body on the allegations of corruption within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) presented its report to the Bureau of the Assembly. The Bureau decided to make the report public. You can read the full document here: http://assembly.coe.int/Communication/IBAC/IBAC-GIAC-Report-EN.pdf

The Independent External Investigation Body was established by the Bureau of the Assembly in April 2017 as part of a wider approach to dealing with the allegations of corruption and fostering of interests made against some members or former members of PACE. While the terms of reference of the Investigation Body did not identify any particular event, individual, entity or country in respect of which the allegations of corruption and fostering of interests were made, the work of the Body has focused on the allegations concerning Azerbaijan’s efforts to silence criticism in PACE in exchange for gifts and money, made by a number of NGOs, including members of the Civic Solidarity Platform. In April 2017, the CSP called on PACE  to launch external, independent, and impartial investigation into allegations of corruption and violations of PACE Code of Conduct in connection with its work on Azerbaijan, and in October 2017 welcomed establishment of an independent external Investigation Body and a motion for dismissal of PACE President Pedro Agramunt.

Below are a few key points from the Investigation’s Body conclusions and recommendations contained in the report:

748. The Investigation Body has made the following principal findings with regard to the activities in the Monitoring Committee: 

• Mr Pedro Agramunt breached paragraphs 1.1.2, 1.1.4 and 1.2 of the Code of Conduct for rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly, and the Code of Conduct of the Monitoring Committee (see paragraphs 586-587 above);
• Mr Samad Seyidov breached paragraph 5.1 of the PACE Code of Conduct (see paragraph 588 above);
• Mr Tadeusz Iwiński breached 1.1.2, 1.1.4 and 1.2 of the Code of Conduct for rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly, and the Code of Conduct of the Monitoring Committee (see paragraphs 589-590 above);
• Mr Agustín Conde breached paragraphs 1.1.2, 1.1.4 and 1.2 of the Code of Conduct for rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly, and the Code of Conduct of the Monitoring Committee (see paragraphs 591 above);
• Mr Cezar Florin Preda breached paragraphs 1.1.4 and 2.1 of the Code of Conduct for rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly, and the Code of Conduct of the Monitoring Committee (see paragraphs 592-594 above);
• Mr Stefan Schennach breached paragraphs 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.4 and 1.2 of the Code of Conduct for rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly, and the Code of Conduct of the Monitoring Committee, as well as paragraphs 5.1, 5.6, 8 and 9 of the PACE Code of Conduct (see paragraphs 595-596 above)

749. With regard to the activities in the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, the Investigation Body has found the following:

• Mr Alain Destexhe breached paragraph 1.1.1 of the Code of Conduct for rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly, and paragraphs 5.1, 5.6, 8 and 9 of the PACE Code of Conduct (see paragraphs 600-608 above).

750. In respect of the activities in other committees, the Investigation Body has found the following:

• Mr Robert Walter breached paragraph 1.1.1 of the Code of Conduct for rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly, and paragraphs 5.1, 5.5, 5.6, 8 and 9 of the PACE Code of Conduct (see paragraphs 611-618 above).

752. With regard to conflict of interest and other individual behaviour, the Investigation Body has found the following:

• Mr Robert Walter breached paragraphs 5.1, 5.6, 8 and 9 of the PACE Code of Conduct in the context of the 2013 election (see paragraphs 618, 640-641 above);
• Mr Agustín Conde breached paragraphs 1.1.2, 1.1.4 and 1.2 of the Code of Conduct for rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly, and the Code of Conduct of the Monitoring Committee in the context of the 2015 elections, where he participated in the observation mission ex officio in his capacity as rapporteur of the Monitoring Committee (see paragraphs 591 and 630 above);
• Mr Tadeusz Iwiński breached paragraphs 1.1.2, 1.1.4 and 1.2 of the Code of Conduct for rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly, and the Code of Conduct of the Monitoring Committee in the context of the 2015 elections, where he participated in the observation mission ex officio in his capacity as rapporteur of the Monitoring Committee (see paragraphs 590 and 630 above);
• Ms Karin Strenz breached paragraphs 5.1, 5.6, 8 and 9 of the PACE Code of Conduct in the specific context of the 2015 elections and in view of the continuing conflict of interest when carrying out her other various activities in PACE relating to Azerbaijan (see paragraph 644 above);
• Mr Jordi Xuclà breached paragraph 13 of the PACE Code of Conduct in the context of the 2015 elections (see paragraph 663 above);
• Mr Alain Destexhe breached paragraphs 5.1, 5.6, 8 and 9 of the PACE Code of Conduct in the context of the 2015 elections and the 2016 re-run elections (see paragraphs 608, 640-641 above);
• Mr Stefan Schennach breached paragraphs 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.4 and 1.2 of the Code of Conduct for rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly, and the Code of Conduct of the Monitoring Committee, as well as paragraphs 5.1, 5.6, 8 and 9 of the PACE Code of Conduct, in the context of the 2016 re-run elections where he participated in his capacity as rapporteur of the Monitoring Committee (see paragraphs 596, 640-641 above).

755. The Investigation Body has found that the following former PACE MPs performed lobbying activities in PACE in breach of paragraph 16 of the PACE Code of Conduct:

• Mr Eduard Lintner (see paragraphs 689-694 above);
• Mr Stef Goris (see paragraphs 695-700 above);
• Mr Jaakko Laakso (see paragraphs 701-704 above);
• Ms Karin S. Woldseth (see paragraphs 705-708 above);
• Mr Göran Lindblad (see paragraphs 709-717 above).

756. The Investigation Body’s findings concerning corruptive activities are the following:

• There are substantial grounds to believe that Mr Luca Volontè, Mr Elkhan Suleymanov and Mr Muslum Mammadov engaged in activity of a corruptive nature (see paragraphs 728-738 above) and that Mr Volontè and Mr Suleymanov seriously breached paragraph 12 of the PACE Code of Conduct (see paragraph 738 above);
• There is a strong suspicion that Mr Pedro Agramunt was party to activity of a corruptive nature (see paragraphs 739-745 above).

The Investigation Body established that there was a group of persons working in PACE in favour of Azerbaijan and established the facts concerning two principal forms of the use of financial means to influence PACE’s work concerning Azerbaijan. The first concerned the remunerated lobbying activities performed by a number of former PACE MPs. The second concerned the actual use of money and other corruptive activities as a means of influencing various activities which were directly or indirectly seen as being in favour of Azerbaijan.

The key deficiency in the organisation of work and political processes in PACE was found to relate to the manner in which the decisions on appointments to different functions were made. This in particular concerned the lack of transparency and sufficient regulation of the procedures for such appointments, especially the appointments of members of the Monitoring Committee and the Rules Committee, as well as the appointments of rapporteurs in general. An issue of lack of transparency and an absence of safeguards against abuse was also found to arise with regard to the voting processes in the committees, which might affect the voting results and open the door to the possibility of exertion of improper influence, including that of a financial nature.

On election observation, the Investigation Body found that the PACE Guidelines on the observation of elections required to be further strengthened and clarified and that the Assembly should consider including in the ethical framework a specific part dedicated to election observation, in order to ensure that members of PACE participating in that type of missions complied with those guidelines.

In its final remarks the Independent Investigation Body stated that: “Regrettably, the body […] found several examples of a failure to respect the rules concerning the declaration of a conflict of interest by members of the Assembly, as well as those governing lobbying activities by its former members. […] the Investigation Body found evidence to give rise to strong suspicions of corruptive conduct involving members of the Assembly, one of which has been widely mediatised and was among the principal reasons prompting the setting up of the Investigation Body.”

The Civic Solidarity Platform (CSP) and in particular its member Freedom Files Analytical Centre have substantially contributed to the investigation. The report “European Values Bought and Sold: An exploration into Azerbaijan's sophisticated system of projecting its international influence, buying western politicians and capturing intergovernmental organisations” has provided valuable input for the Independent Investigation Body’s review and has been extensively quoted in the document (p. 11-14). Representatives of the organisation testified at the hearings of the Investigation Body in September 2017.

In regards to the report of the Investigation Body, the Bureau of the Assembly at its meeting on 22 April decided to:

“- invite the current and former members of the Assembly whose behavior has been found by the investigation body as unethical or in violation of the Assembly’s code of conduct, or who have refused to co-operate with the investigation body, to suspend all their activities within the Assembly with immediate effect;

- invite the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs to consider further possible actions;

- invite the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs to ensure proper follow-up to the recommendations for the Assembly’s ethical framework made in the report.”

The CSP welcomes the publication of the report and the decisions made by the Bureau of the assembly on 22 April. It will closely monitor the situation with a follow-up to the investigation and hopes that all necessary steps will be taken by the Council of Europe and national parliaments to fight all forms of corruption and make sure that the mechanisms of legal and ethical responsibility and accountability stay strong on national and international levels. Moreover, it is very important that national law enforcement bodies in various countries conduct effective investigation of allegations of corruption made against several serving and former PACE members. The CSP is committed to provide assistance in such efforts where necessary.