A vice president of the European Parliament, the Greek Social Democrat Eva Kaili, is one of the five people arrested within the investigation launched by the Belgian Prosecutor’s Office.
Euskaraz irakurri: Europako Parlamentuan esku hartzeko eroskeria sare batengatik Qatar ikertzen ari da Belgikako Fiskaltza
A vice-president of the European Parliament, the Greek Social Democrat Eva Kaili, is among the five detained in Belgium as part of an investigation into a possible case of corruption linked to attempts by Qatar, the country that hosts the Soccer World Cup, to influence parliamentary position.
As reported today by the newspaper “Le Soir” and “Knack”, Kaili, who occupies one of the fourteen vice-presidencies of the European Parliament, has been arrested this Friday afternoon in the framework of this case and his house has been searched by the judicial police.
This body carried out this Friday 16 house searches and arrested four people, including Kaili’s partner, who is a current collaborator linked to the group of Socialists and Social Democrats in the European Parliament, according to the aforementioned newspapers. This Saturday they are declaring before the Belgian judge who is handling the case and will decide tomorrow whether or not to release them.
Greek Social Democrat Eva Kaili, in a file photo. Photo: EFE
The newspapers “Le Soir” and “Knack” had advanced the existence of an investigation into an alleged case of corruption, criminal organization and money laundering initiated by the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office last July on suspicion that Qatar would have tried to influence the position of Parliament.
“For several months judicial police investigators have suspected that a Gulf State has tried to influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament“, indicated this Friday morning the federal prosecutor’s office in a statement distributed to the press.
They would have done so by “paying substantial amounts of money and offering important gifts to third parties with an important political or strategic position within the European Parliament,” he added.
Although this institution does not explicitly mention Qatar, the two Belgian media assure that several well-informed sources have confirmed that it is in this country that the investigation directed by a judge specialized in financial crimes is focused.
Source: Eitb
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