The arrest of Greek MEP Eva Kaili, one of the vice-presidents of the European Parliament, as part of an investigation into corruption in relation to Qatar, has increased pressure for her to step down and for greater ethical control of the
This Sunday (11), the Federal Public Ministry of Belgium said that four people were taken into custody after being accused of “affiliation to a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption”. Two other people were released.
The statement did not name the four people arrested, but a judicial source close to the case, who requested anonymity, told AFP that Kaili was among them. The 44-year-old deputy and former television presenter had already been arrested on Friday night (9), when, according to press reports, she was carrying “bags of banknotes”. She was unable to benefit from parliamentary immunity because she was caught “in flagrante delicto”.
Kaili’s home was searched after her father was found with a large sum of money in a suitcase.
On Friday, the Belgian Public Ministry reported having found €600,000 in cash in 16 diligences carried out in Brussels.
The MP also announced that a search of the residence of a second deputy was carried out on Saturday night.
According to the prosecutor’s statement, “the payment of large sums of money or significant offers to third parties with a political and/or strategic position that allows, within the European Parliament, to influence decisions” of this institution is suspected.
The Belgian Prosecutor’s Office had already spoken of its suspicion of payments of “substantial sums” by a Gulf country to influence the decisions of MEPs. The country was not identified, but a source close to the case confirmed to AFP that it is Qatar.
French MEP Manon Aubry denounced Qatar’s “aggressive lobby” and demanded a debate on the issue next week in a plenary session.
“Any accusation of misconduct by the State of Qatar demonstrates gross misinformation,” a senior Qatari official told AFP on Saturday.
Last Saturday night, the president of the European Parliament, the Maltese Roberta Metsola, decided on a first sanction against Kaili and removed her from the functions she had delegated to her, including as representative of the House for the Middle East region.
Left-wing MEPs, including environmentalist Philippe Lamberts on behalf of the Green bench, called for the resignation of Kaili, who was excluded on Friday from the Greek socialist party (Pasok-Kinal).
Pressure for greater ethical control in the European Parliament increased after the incident. “This was not an isolated incident,” said the NGO Transparency International. “For several decades, Parliament has allowed a culture of impunity to develop … and a total absence of independent ethical control,” he added.
“We will do everything in our power to cooperate with Justice,” tweeted European Parliament President Roberta Metsola of Malta.
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