Qatarqate: Giorgi’s testimony and the unanswered questions about Kaili’s attitude

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Eva Kaili declares through her lawyer that “there will be no Iphigenia” insisting on denying any involvement with the money in her house

By Athena Papakosta

The Belgian capital has been living in the Qatargate constellation for a week now, with the European officials’ funding scandal casting a heavy shadow over the European Parliament. Scenes of a police thriller unfold with an Italian flavor, the focus of which remains the Greek MEP, Eva Kaili.

Yesterday, we read the testimony of her partner Francesco Giorgi claiming that the former vice-president of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, is innocent and did not know about the money that was in their shared apartment in Brussels. He himself, according to what was revealed in their reports by the Belgian Le Soir and Knack as well as the Italian La Repubblica bowed before the Belgian judicial authorities confessing his involvement in the Qatargate scandal saying that he was a member of an organization which had connections both with Morocco and and with Qatar to influence their relations with Europe. Although, he is reported to have said, he did not need the money – as he received a monthly salary of €2,500 – he sided with his mentor, Pier Antonio Panzeri, who may no longer be an MEP but was the one who “discovered” him » when he was only a 22-year-old student giving him the opportunity to access the political circles of Brussels. “This is how the young Milanese show their “gratitude” when someone helps them,” Francesco Giorgi, 35 years old today, is reported to have said about the person he now names as head of the organization.

For his part, Laurence Kens, the lawyer of Pierre Antonio Pancheri, when asked by Le Soir, answered that he does not have this information, denouncing, at the same time, the “violation of privacy” in court documents to which no one is allowed to have access. In the confession of Francesco Giorgi “burned” two other faces. They are the current deputies of the Eurosocialists, Mark Tarabella (Belgian) and Andrea Coccolino (Italian), whose parliamentary assistant he is. Mark Tarabella’s lawyer emphasized, also speaking to Le Soir, that his client “has never received the slightest offer or sum of money from anyone” and that he remains at the disposal of Justice.

In one week from today we will discuss what Eva Kaili will say before the judicial authorities as her own hearing is scheduled for next Thursday, December 22.

SKAI and its envoy in Brussels, Yiannis Souliotis, spoke with a source present during the arraignment of Ms. Kaili, who however asked not to be named. According to the said source, the Greek MEP when she was now at the headquarters of the judicial police in Rue Royale in Brussels said that she had seen bags and bags of cash in the past as well. She also pointed out that she asked her father and his wife to move the money out of the house, after she had been informed by the Belgian media about the importation of her partner. However, her movements were already being monitored and with this decision she herself created the conditions that allowed the automatic procedure to be initiated.

For her part, Ms. Kaili states through her lawyer that “there will be no Iphigenia” persistently denying any involvement with the money found in her home, placing all blame on her partner Francesco Giorgi. In particular, the lawyer of Mrs. Dimitrakopoulos emphasized that “the suitcase with the money at her house has nothing to do with the statements about Qatar” and added that “all the actions of Mrs. Kaili were with the approval of the European Parliament. There was no personal agenda of Mrs. Kaili, everything was a political decision of the European Council and the Commission and not only of the European Parliament and Mrs. Metsola”. In addition, Mr. Dimitrakopoulos said that Mrs. Kaili “when she realized the money, she asked what it was and did not get a convincing answer about its origin. That is why she immediately asked them to leave the house. She assumed that her father would be the carrier, because he did not there was someone else. He took them to take them to their owner. However, the Police caught up with him.”

The unanswered questions about the attitude of Eva Kaili are now many. Among them, the fact that she did not choose to inform the police but her father remains an unanswered question. An additional question that arises is how she knew who her father should deliver the money to and why she did not reveal his name to the authorities. Furthermore, why had she not reacted in the past when – as she allegedly claimed – she had seen bags of cash in her home before? And finally, the constant question remains the fact that while speaking openly in favor of Qatar in the European Parliament, why did he have to go to the point of taking part in an EP committee, of which he was not even a member, voting, in fact, in favor of visa liberalization for travelers from that country…

At the same time, in Greece, the Financial Prosecutor’s Office orders an investigation into crimes such as money laundering and bribery, with the criminal preliminary investigation concerning the acquisition of the assets and the thorough control of every financial activity of the former vice-president of the European Parliament.

And while everyone is waiting for Ms Kaili to cross the threshold of the Pre-Trial Chamber, the European Parliament is suspending work related to Qatar in particular regarding the liberalization of the visa regime and the EU-Qatar agreement on air transport, as well as planned visits , until there is more clarity about the complaints. At the same time, the president of the EP, Roberta Metsola, announces a broad package of reforms for transparency and accountability.

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