EP Vice-President Eva Kaili was detained by the Belgian police on suspicion of corruption on Friday 9 December. This was announced by the Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, to which the MEP belongs, after a series of searches and detentions in Brussels.
Greek MEP Eva Kaili holds the position of Vice-President of the European Parliament. Having visited Qatar, she praised the reforms carried out there upon her return. The Belgian police suspected corruption and lobbying for the interests of Qatar in EU. Detention, as he writes Deutsche Welle, occurred as part of an investigation into possible corruption by Qatar, which is currently hosting the World Cup. In total, five people were detained in Brussels in this case.
The Greek Socialist Party PASOK, of which Kylie is a member, announced her expulsion yesterday. Eva Kaili was one of the representatives of the European Parliament to monitor the situation in the labor market in Qatar. Human rights activists note numerous violations of the rights of labor migrants from Africa and Asia there. The European Parliament demanded reforms from Qatar to improve the situation. Even before the start of the championship taking place there now, Kylie met with Ali bin Samih Al-Marri, the Minister of Labor of Qatar. Speaking at the EP on November 22, she gave the most positive assessment of the labor market reform in the country, calling it “inspiring to the Arab world.”
In addition to Eva Kaili, her partner, who works in the European Parliament, and an Italian politician, a representative of a trade union and an employee of an NGO, were detained. During the searches, the Brussels police seized mobile phones, computers and 600,000 euros. Earlier, the Belgian prosecutor’s office reported the seizure of about 600,000 euros, without specifying which country of the Persian Gulf appears in the investigation.
It is worth noting that the federal prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into suspected corruption, money laundering and organizing a criminal community a few months ago. It was about possible corrupt ties between the Persian Gulf state and the European Parliament. Bribes were used to try to influence the political or economic decisions of the EP.
A little earlier, in November, the statements of the Vice-Speaker of the European Parliament Eva Kaili about the World Cup in Qatar caused a political scandal. The Greek politician called the World Cup proof that sport and diplomacy can lead to reforms that inspire the entire Arab world. “Pasok” condemned this statement, notes AFP. The publication reports that on Friday, the house of Eva Kylie was searched, and her partner was detained in the morning: “Both are under investigation for corruption.”
In total, the Central Office for Combating Corruption in Brussels conducted more than fifteen searches, detained 4 people. Among them – Secretary General of the International Trade Union Confederation Luca Visentini and former MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri with his ex-assistant. Le Soir notes: “The only way to arrest a parliamentarian protected by immunity is to catch him in the act.”
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