Politico published the warrant for her arrest Eva Kaili for Qatargate. According to the arrest warrant, obtained by Politico, a network operated in Brussels under the direction of Qatar’s labor minister.

Politico recalls that in December the Belgian Police discovered about 1.5 million euros in an operation that exposed the alleged bribery ring in the European Parliament. But this amount may just be “the tip of the iceberg”, is emphasized. According to the arrest warrant for Eva Kaili, former deputy speaker of the Parliament, the most senior official involved in the scandal, “several million euros” found themselves in the hands of the main suspects in Qatargate.

The “significant sums of money,” the warrant adds, “were secretly paid in cash from Morocco and Qatar.”

The detail is just one of many striking elements of the document, parts of which have previously been reported in Greek media. It also reports that Kaili called the alleged ringleader, Pier Antonio Panzeri, as well as two other unnamed MEPs, after her partner, Francesco Giorgi, was arrested on the morning of December 9.

The document broadly describes a Brussels-based network that worked on behalf of Qatar’s labor minister, who as of 2021 is Ali Bin Samih al-Marri.

According to the warrant, Qatar directed its business in Brussels through Pancheri, the former MEP who was also arrested and pleaded guilty in a deal to bribe parliamentarians.

“The Secretary of Labor,” the warrant reads, “appears to be Mr man who controlled the activities of Mr. Pantseri”.

Also involved: Kylie’s partner, Georgie, who used to work for Pancheri and was arrested in December. The warrant presents Giorgi as the Pancheri-Kaili mediator.

“The investigation shows that orders were given by Mr. Panzeris to the defendant’s husband,” he adds, referring to Eva Kaili.

According to the warrant, Pancheri was addressing Giorgi when he wanted to direct the behavior of the Greek MEP. The warrant notes an incident where Pancheri was upset with Kaili because she was talking to a mystery woman “the Dutchess”. “Pantseri criticizes the fact that Kylie spoke to Dutchess,” the warrant states, noting that the alleged ringleader believed he had “crossed the line.”

“It would be a good idea to tell her to stop,” Pancheri allegedly told Giorgi, according to the document. Politico does not know the identity of “Dutch.”

The warrant also states that Georgie was unofficially helping Kylie pay off a “second apartment” purchased in her name, which was seen as evidence that he knew of her partner’s income from Qatargate.

However, Georgie and Kylie deny any wrongdoing, as does Qatar. Kaili’s lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, refused to confirm or deny the authenticity of the warrant. Georgi’s lawyer declined to comment, and the Qatari government did not respond to Politico’s request for comment.

Are millions missing?

Kaili has been held for more than two months on charges of corruption, money laundering and membership of a criminal organization following an extensive investigation into whether foreign countries, including Qatar and Morocco, illegally influenced the work of the European Parliament. The Greek MEP was arrested on charges of being “the main organizer or co-organiser of public corruption, money laundering”, according to the warrant issued on December 9.

Shortly after the first arrests in the Qatargate investigation, Belgian authorities announced that they had recovered approximately €1.5 million in cash from the main suspects. Of these, 150,000 euros were found in Kaili’s apartment and another 150,000 euros were found in a suitcase carried by her father to the Sofitel hotel in Brussels. The arrest warrant also refers to approximately 700,000 euros found in Pancheri’s home.

However, the total amount falls far short of the “several millions” listed in the warrant, suggesting the suspects received additional payments that have not yet been recovered. Asked about the discrepancy, a spokesman for the Belgian prosecutor’s office said investigators have yet to assess the full extent of all payments by suspects involved in Qatargate.

According to the arrest warrant, Kaili said she had instructed her father, Alexandros Kaili, to take the money from her home in Brussels. “The defendant admits that she instructed her father to hide the money. She states that she was aware of her husband’s and Pancheri’s activities and that suitcases of money had passed through her apartment in the past,” it states.

Mr Dimitrakopoulos, Kaili’s lawyer, later said there was no evidence to support the claim that Kaili ordered her father to hide the money. “As soon as she realized the existence of the money and felt that it was a toxic monster, which she had to remove immediately from the apartment she shared with her partner, she asked her father to take the suitcase to a central Brussels hotel, where the money they would be picked up by their rightful owner,” he said in a statement in late January. The warrant presents a different assessment: “There are serious indications of guilt.”