ATHENS (Reuters) – Vice-President of the European Parliament Eva Kaili, who is at the center of a corruption scandal, has rejected allegations that she received money from Qatar, according to one of her lawyers.
“She takes the position that she is innocent,” Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, representing the Greek, told Open TV on Tuesday. “She has nothing to do with Qatari funding, nothing – explicitly and unequivocally. That is her position.” Kaili has “not taken any commercial action in her life”.
Belgian investigators had searched several houses and parliamentary offices in the past few days and confiscated several hundred thousand euros in cash, as well as computers and mobile phones. Four people were arrested according to the Belgian public prosecutor’s office, names were not mentioned. They are suspected of corruption, money laundering, forming a criminal organization and attempted influence from abroad. According to their own statements, the Belgian investigators have long suspected that a Gulf state is trying to buy influence in Brussels. A person familiar with the case said the state is Qatar. A representative of the emirate, which is currently hosting the World Cup, dismissed allegations of possible wrongdoing over the weekend.
Kaili is said to be among those arrested. The 44-year-old is one of 14 Vice Presidents of the European Parliament. The European Parliament wants to vote this Tuesday on whether Kaili’s post will be revoked. She was relieved of her duties on Saturday. Greece has also frozen Kaili’s assets, according to a person familiar with the process.
(Report by Karolina Tagaris, written by Christian Rüttger, edited by Kerstin Dörr. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected] (for politics and the economy) or [email protected] (for companies and markets).)