The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has announced a internal investigation by the ‘Qatargate’ and has ensured that “there will be no impunity” for those who have responsibilities in the corruption plot uncovered in Belgium for the alleged payment of bribes to MEPs and staff of the Parliament by Qatar.
“We are not going to sweep anything under the rug,” Metsola stated in a lengthy speech at the opening of the plenary session in Strasbourg (France) to firmly censure corruption, lamenting that what he considers a “attack” on the institution and democracy of those who try to buy favors. He has thus warned that Parliament “will always be on the side of the law.”
The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed shortly after that the investigation for corruption, money laundering and criminal organization has been open “more than four months” before acting last Friday, when about twenty searches were carried out, offices were sealed in the headquarters in Brussels of the Eurocámara that this Monday have been registered and six people were arrested of which four remain deprived of liberty and on Wednesday they will testify before the judge.
Among the defendants is the Greek MEP Eva Kaili, who occupies one of the fourteen vice-presidencies of the European Parliament and at whose home some 600,000 euros were found during the searches. In two other actions, the Belgian authorities seized “several hundred thousand euros” in a suitcase in a hotel room and another 150,000 euros at the home of another MEP.
For this reason, over the weekend, President Metsola dismissed Kaili from her functions and representation tasks as vice president, although it will be the plenary session of the European Parliament that must decide on her dismissal as vice president.
New records in the European Parliament
The Belgian Police carried out a search on Monday afternoon at the headquarters of the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels to seize data necessary for the investigation of an alleged case of corruption and money laundering by workers of this institution linked to Qatar.
“Since Friday, with the support of the security services of the European Parliament, the computer resources of ten parliamentary collaborators had been “frozen” in order to prevent data necessary for the investigation from disappearing. The registry today in the European Parliament was intended to collect these data”the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office reported in a statement.
In its statement, the Belgian Public Ministry confirmed that a total of 20 searches have taken place since that day, 19 of them in private residences and officesto which is added this afternoon in the premises of the European Parliament.
In them “several hundred thousand euros” have been confiscated, Specifically, 600,000 euros at the home of one of the suspects, “several hundred thousand euros in a suitcase in a hotel room in Brussels” and “about 150,000 euros in the apartment of a MEP”, according to the Prosecutor’s Office. .
He confirmed that, of the six people detained for questioning, four have been arrested and will appear before the Council Chamber – a Belgian court – on Wednesday, including a member of the European Parliament.
Who are those involved?
WHO ARE THE INVOLVED
A presenter on Greek television, Eva Kailí became vice president of the European Parliament, a title from which they are about to strip her. In Greece they have already seized all her assets and those of her closest relatives.
Her boyfriend is also accused. Franceso Giorgi, who boasted of a luxurious life on his social networks. Advisor to the European Parliament, he founded ‘Fight Impunity’, an NGO that seems to be at the center of the plot.
The current president of this NGO, the MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, is also charged. His wife and his daughter have been arrested in Italy.
In addition, the house of MEP Marc Tarabella has been searched, who denies any involvement in the case. He says he, he has never received money from Qatar.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
