She had been expelled from her party on Friday, had lost her post as vice-president of the European Parliament on Saturday. On Sunday, the Greek Eva Kaili was charged and imprisoned by Belgian justice in an investigation into suspicions of corruption in connection with Qatar within the EU. At least that’s what a judicial source close to the case says, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The prosecution did not give the names of the accused, contenting itself with noting that four people were imprisoned after their indictment by a Brussels investigating judge for “belonging to a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption” , the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Two other people were released by the judge.
Bags full of cash
Eva Kaili could not benefit from her parliamentary immunity because the offense of which she is accused was found in flagrante delicto on Friday. The federal prosecutor’s office also announced that a search had taken place on Saturday evening at the home of a second MEP.
In this case “is suspected the payment of large sums of money or the offer of significant gifts to third parties having a political and/or strategic position allowing, within the European Parliament, to influence the decisions” of this institution , underlines the statement of the parquet floor.
The 44-year-old former TV presenter who became a figure of social democracy in her country was one of the many vice-presidents of the European Parliament. According to the Belgian newspaper The Echo, “Several bags full of banknotes” were discovered at his Brussels home, which the police searched after having surprised the father of the elected official himself in possession of a large amount of cash in “a suitcase”.
Pro-Qatar statements
Eva Kaili went to Qatar in early November where she welcomed the reforms of the emirate in this sector in the presence of the Qatari Minister of Labor. “Qatar is a leader in terms of labor rights,” the Greek also said on November 22 from the podium of the European Parliament. These comments, which had then caused a stir in the ranks of the left, came back to the minds of many MEPs when the news of Eva Kaili’s arrest was announced.
French socialists denounced “a very serious scandal”, while environmentalists Michèle Rivasi and David Cormand pointed to “a culpable complacency” of certain social democrats (S & D) during the debate on Qatar at the last plenary session . The next session, which starts Monday in Strasbourg, promises to be hectic. French MEP Manon Aubry (radical left) demanded a new debate on the same subject, castigating Saturday “the aggressive lobbying of Qatar”.