Greek Vice President of the European Parliament and MEP Eva Kaili, accused in a Qatar-related money laundering and corruption scandal, pleads not guilty and denies receiving any money, one of her lawyers, Michalis Dimitrakopulos, said Tuesday.
🇧🇷[Eva Kaili] it has nothing to do with the financing of Qatar, nothing, explicitly and unequivocally. That is their position,” Dimitrakopoulos told Greek TV channel OPEN.
The lawyer added that Kaili, who is being held in Belgium, “has not carried out any commercial activity in her life.”
As for the father of Eva Kaili, who, according to the press, was arrested when he tried to flee with bags full of money, the lawyer clarified that the Belgian authorities did not impose restrictive conditions on him and that, if he wanted, “he is free to return to Greece”.
The Greek Socialist MEP, suspended from all functions both in Greece and in the European Parliament, is one of four people in pretrial detention for alleged involvement in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption related to Qatar , host country of the 2022 edition of the Soccer World Cup.
A Belgian judge decided on Sunday to prosecute Eva Kaili, a member of the European Socialists (Socialists and Democrats, S&D) group, along with three other people, including her partner, the Italian Francesco Giorgi.
The investigation was opened by the Belgian justice, on suspicion of an illegal lobby from Qatar to influence the political decisions of the European Parliament.
The Greek Anti-Money Laundering Authority ordered on Monday the seizure of the assets (real estate, bank accounts, companies) of Eva Kaili and her close relatives in the country, justifying that they may come from illegal activities.
Eva Kaili’s bank deposits have more than doubled in two years, according to her annual asset declarations which are available on the website of the Greek parliament.
Eva Kaili, 44, is part of the most conservative wing of the Greek socialist party, PASOK-Kinal, and became a member of the Greek parliament in 2007. Since 2019, she has been a member of the European Parliament.
Before entering politics, she was a presenter for the Greek TV channel MEGA, after studying civil engineering and architecture.
Source: TSF
