Eva Kaili admitted to investigators that she asked her father to hide part of the thousands of euros in her house, and a suitcase with money was taken to the Sofitel hotel, where the MEP’s father was staying.
The former vice president of the European Parliament (EP) Eva Kaili, suspected of having received bribes from Qatar, confessed on Tuesday that she knew of the existence of large amounts of money in her house, but did not admit to having been corrupted.
The Greek socialist MEP has been detained for more than a week, and a hearing is scheduled for Thursday at the Court of First Instance in Brussels to decide whether the politician remains in preventive detention.
The judicial authorities have already ordered that the other two defendants in the context of the scandal known as ‘Qatargate’ -Eva Kaili’s partner, Francesco Giorgi, who has already recognized, in statements to the police, his participation in the corruption plot- , and the former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri- is being held in pretrial detention.
According to this Tuesday’s edition of the newspaper Le Soir, which had access to the investigation, Eva Kaili admitted to investigators that she had asked her father to hide part of the thousands of euros that were in her house, having brought a suitcase with money. to the Hotel Sofitel, where the MEP’s father was staying.
It was precisely the role of Kaili’s father that allowed the Belgian police (in charge of conducting the investigation) to act, despite the immunity granted at the time to the EP vice-president, since it was considered that she was committing a flagrant crime. .
Francesco Giorgi, whom the court confirmed in pretrial detention on the 14th, confessed to the investigating judge his participation in an organization that allegedly received bribes from Qatar and Morocco for political and economic benefits in the European Union (EU).
Investigators considered former Socialist MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri to be the ringleader of the scheme, saying he used the non-governmental organization (NGO) Fight Impunity to reach out to “honorary” MEPs and members, including the former European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs. Foreign Affairs, the Greek Dimitris Avramopoulos, and the former High Representative of the EU for Foreign Policy, the Italian socialist Federica Mogherini.
Panzeri’s wife and daughter were arrested in Italy for alleged involvement in the corruption case and Italian justice authorized the former’s extradition to Belgium, where authorities suspect she played an active role in the scheme.
The defense of Panzeri’s wife announced, however, that they will appeal the decision, the Italian press reported.
In addition, according to the newspaper Le Soir, both Giorgi and Panzeri mentioned, in their statements, the involvement of Belgian Socialist MEP Marc Tarabella, who has already been questioned by the police and his home searched, but who remains at large.
Source: TSF
