European Parliament Vice-President and Greek MEP Eva Kaili, accused of a money laundering and corruption scandal linked to Qatar, pleads not guilty and denies receiving any money, one of her lawyers, Michalis Dimitrakopulos, said today.
🇧🇷[Eva Kaili] it has nothing to do with financing from Qatar, nothing, explicit and unambiguous. That is her position,” Dimitrakopoulos told Greek television channel OPEN.
The lawyer added that Kaili, who is detained in Belgium, “has not carried out any commercial activity in her life”.
As for Eva Kaili’s father, who was arrested according to the press when he tried to flee with bags full of money, the lawyer clarified that the Belgian authorities did not impose any restrictive conditions on him and that if he wanted to, “he is free to return”. return to Greece”.
The Greek Socialist MEP, meanwhile suspended from all her posts both in Greece and the European Parliament, is one of four people held in preventive detention on charges of alleged participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering and corruption related to Qatar, a host country. of the 2022 edition of the Football World Cup.
A Belgian judge decided on Sunday to indict Eva Kaili, a member of the European Socialists (of the Socialists and Democrats, S&D) group, along with three other people, including her partner, Italian Francesco Giorgi.
The investigation was opened by the Belgian judiciary, on suspicion of an illegal lobby from Qatar to influence political decisions of the European Parliament.
Greece’s anti-money laundering authority on Monday ordered the seizure of assets (real estate, bank accounts, businesses) belonging to Eva Kaili and her close relatives in the country, justifying that they may have originated from illegal activities.
Eva Kaili’s bank deposits have more than doubled in two years, according to her annual asset declarations available on the Greek Parliament’s website.
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. She has been a member of the European Parliament since 2019.
Before entering politics, she was a moderator for the Greek television channel MEGA, after studying civil engineering and architecture.
expelled from office
The European Parliament (EP) fired Vice President Eva Kaili on Tuesday. The decision was approved by 625 votes in favour, one against and two abstentions, representing a double majority of two-thirds of the votes cast and a majority of the delegates making up the chamber.
The vote took place under Rule 21 of the EP’s Rules of Procedure, following investigations carried out by the Belgian authorities in the context of suspected corruption involving, among others, the Greek MEP.
The procedure was initiated by a decision of the Conference of Presidents (President of the European Parliament and political groups) early in the morning, which unanimously adopted the decision.
Source: DN
