The vice president of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, learned this Sunday about the coercive measure applied on suspicion of participation in a criminal plot, allegedly with ties to Qatar. Arrested in flagrante delicto, on Friday, in Brussels, Eva Kaili will remain in pretrial detention from this Sunday, along with her husband and her former deputy, António Panzeri.
She is accused of “corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organization”, according to the Belgian newspaper Le Soir.
The father of MEP Eva Kaili is also in the crosshairs of the operation that began on Friday. Alexandros Kailis was caught outside a Brussels hotel carrying a suitcase full of tickets, but was released on Sunday.
Under Belgian law, detentions for coercive measures cannot last more than 48 hours. The president of the International Trade Union Confederation, Luca Vincentini, was released but with coercive measures.
On Friday, Belgian police carried out searches of 16 homes in Brussels and on the outskirts of the city, seizing a total of 600,000 euros in cash, mobile phones and computer equipment.
Investigators from the Belgian Judicial Police have suspected for several months that a Gulf country may be influencing the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament.
Suspicions point to actions taken by Qatar to contact members “with a significant political and/or strategic position”, rewarding them with gifts and large sums of money, to influence the European Parliament on positions on human rights in Qatar.
Eva Kaili recently called Qatar a “pioneer of workers’ rights.” These statements were made after a meeting with the Qatari Minister of Labour.
As is well known, there have been numerous international public expressions of concern about working conditions in Qatar and, in particular, about the construction of the stadiums that will host the World Cup.
But during the energy crisis, Western politicians have been careful not to antagonize the country, which is one of the biggest producers of liquefied natural gas, as they search for alternative sources of supply to Russian gas.
As an MEP, Eva Kaili is protected by parliamentary immunity, but the discovery in flagrante immediately determined that she was arrested, and now accused of participation in a corruption scheme, criminal organization and money laundering, to influence the decisions of the European Parliament . Eva Kaili’s mandate has been suspended since Saturday.
In addition to Eva Kaili and her husband, a parliamentary assistant and a lobbyist are in custody.
The police also carried out searches, this Sunday, at the home of a Belgian MEP, seizing computer equipment, but the deputy remains free.
Source: TSF
