Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

EU corruption scandal: MEP denies Qatar bribery after €1.5m seized

EU corruption scandal: MEP denies Qatar bribery after €1.5m seized

Eva Kaili is one of four suspects charged, after Belgian investigators found €1.5m (£1.3m) in two homes and a suitcase.

MEPs have voted - by 625 to one - to strip Ms Kaili of her role as one of its 14 vice-presidents.

Parliament leader Roberta Metsola has spoken of "difficult days for European democracy".

Qatar has denied any wrongdoing. From their point of view they did everything right as they serve their own interest.



"[Eva Kaili] declares her innocence and that she has nothing to do with bribery from Qatar," her lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos told Greek TV on Tuesday.

Prosecutors carried out a string of searches over several days and said cash worth about €600,000 had been found at the home of one suspect, €150,000 at the flat of an MEP and €750,000 in a suitcase in a Brussels hotel room.

Belgian police released a photo on Tuesday showing piles of notes in €200, €50, €20 and €10 denominations.

Asked if money had been found at Ms Kaili's apartment, her lawyer said: "I have no idea if any money was found or how much was found."

The suspects arrested by Belgian police have been charged with "participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering and corruption", prosecutors said on Sunday. They will appear before a pre-trial court on Wednesday.

The three others are all thought to be Italians, including Pier Antonio Panzeri, an Italian former MEP who now runs a human rights group.

The allegations have cast a shadow over the role of lobbying groups at the European Parliament. A recommendation to allow visa-free travel to the EU for Qataris was set to be voted on by MEPs this week but has now been shelved.

Searches have taken place in Italy as well as in Brussels. Since Friday, the IT resources of 10 parliamentary employees have been "frozen" to prevent the disappearance of data necessary for the investigation.

Parliament, sitting in Strasbourg, voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to strip Ms Kaili of her role as vice-president.

She has also been suspended from the parliament's Socialists and Democrats Group and expelled from the Greek centre-left Pasok party.

Greek authorities have frozen assets belonging to her, her husband and immediate family members.

The activities of a property company set up about two weeks ago by the MEP and her husband in Athens have also been frozen.

Six people were detained on Friday as part of the investigation into allegations that Qatar bribed EU officials to win influence. Two were later released.

The three others accused are all Italian citizens. Ms Kaili's partner Francesco Giorgi, who is a parliamentary assistant, is among those reportedly charged.

Former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, who now runs human rights group Fight Impunity, is also among the four, sources say. His wife and daughter were also reportedly arrested.

The other suspect, according to Italian news agency Ansa, is Niccolò Figa-Talamanca, who runs lobby group No Peace Without Justice.

The head of the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Luca Visentini, was questioned and later released. He said later he had been able to answer all questions put to him.

BBC Brussels correspondent Jessica Parker says details released by Belgian authorities in the last few days left many people's jaws on the floor in EU circles.

MEPs who spoke to our correspondent say they are shocked by both the scale and blatancy of the accusations.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the accusations were "very serious" and called for the creation of a new ethics body to oversee the bloc.

Ms Metsola said ahead of the vote to strip Ms Kaili of her leading role at the Parliament that "European democracy is under attack and our free and democratic societies are under attack". She and the Parliament would do everything they could to fight corruption, she added on Tuesday: "There will be no impunity, there will be no sweeping under the carpet."

Watchdogs and MEPs said the bribery investigation could represent one of the biggest corruption scandals in the parliament's history.

Prosecutors said they suspected a Gulf state had been influencing economic and political decisions of the parliament for several months, especially by targeting aides.

Local media has named the state as Qatar, although the Qatari government said any claims of misconduct were "gravely misinformed".

Ms Kaili's responsibilities as vice-president included the Middle East.

The World Cup in Qatar is proof, actually, of how sports diplomacy can achieve a historical transformation of a country with reforms that inspired the Arab world.

Last month, while other colleagues drew attention Qatar's human rights violations, she gave an effusive speech to the parliament praising Qatar for hosting the World Cup and for its role as a "frontrunner in labour rights".

Green MEP Daniel Freund, who heads a cross-party anti-corruption group, told the BBC that the parliament had "reasonably good lobby transparency rules" but that third countries like Qatar were excluded from them: "So I think these third countries should go on the lobby register."

The European Parliament is the EU's only directly elected institution. Some 705 members of parliament, elected by voters in the 27 nations which make up the EU, meet to scrutinise proposed legislation and vote through European law.

MEPs generally enjoy immunity from prosecution, but not in cases where "a member is found in the act of committing an offence", the parliament says.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×