Former CoE MP Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Taking Bribes from Azerbaijan

The Italian MP Luca Volontè, who was at the center of a corruption scandal in the Council of Europe, has been sentenced to 4 years in prison for taking bribes from Azerbaijan. According to La Repubblica, this ruling was made by the Milan court.

The Milan police and prosecutor's office opened a criminal investigation against Volontè back in February 2016. Volontè, a former MP from the Christian Democratic Party and former head of the European People's Party group in the CoE, was accused of receiving a bribe of €2.4 million from Azerbaijan between 2012 and 2013. In return, the Azerbaijani authorities allegedly used him within the Italian Parliament and the Council of Europe.

The funds were reportedly transferred to him by Suleymanov, head of the Azerbaijani delegation in the CoE, with coordination work carried out by an Azerbaijani lobbying organization based in Brussels. The criminal case against Volontè officially had two charges: bribery and money laundering.