A vice president of the European Parliament and a handful of other EU officials and aides have been arrested and brought in for questioning by police in Brussels on Friday, December 9.
AFP wrote, “Belgian police arrested Greek Socialist MEP Eva Kaili, a vice-president of the European Parliament, in connection with a corruption investigation involving World Cup host Qatar.”
Police further closed the European Parliament offices of three MEPs, including Kaili and Belgian S&D group members Maria Arena and Marc Tarabella.
“Today’s searches have enabled investigators to recover approximately 600,000 euros in cash,” prosecutors said in a statement after their homes were raided.
The evidence points to a large influence peddling operation involving an exchange of money and favors by Qatari officials. The explosive story is grabbing international headlines as the World Cup hosted by Qatar heads into the semi-finals on Saturday, through to the final four.
Earlier in the day, police said a total of 16 raids were launched across the Belgian capital and it was only later on Friday that Qatar was named at the center of the investigation.
“Computer equipment and mobile phones were also seized. These elements will be analyzed as part of the investigations”, declared the EU prosecutor’s office based in Belgium, as it was suspected that it was a Gulf country (for influencing) the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament”.
According to official claims, this was done “by paying large sums of money or offering large gifts to” prominent figures in the European Parliament.
44-year-old Kaili has been an MEP since 2014 and first rose to prominence as a popular Greek TV presenter. According to more via AP:
The statement said the raids targeted, in particular, those working for EU lawmakers. The EU Assembly has 705 members elected by the bloc’s 27 member countries. Every legislator has several assistants.
Eva Kaili, the EU vice-president arrested for taking bribes from Qatar, praised the country’s “labour reforms” as countless stories of slave labor at the stadium emerged.
AND @vonderleyen says Qatar is an ideal energy partner for the EU…because of Russia’s human rights abuses.https://t.co/zyxdqsL9H6
— Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) December 9, 2022
Her party PASOK, or the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, moved swiftly to formally expel her, effective Friday evening, after the corruption investigation was revealed.
She is alleged to have been one of a group of European Parliament officials with an “important political and/or strategic position” who were bribed by Qatari officials.
Despite the World Cup so far going relatively smoothly and Doha celebrating its current ‘success’ – this will certainly boost its image heading into the World Cup final.
Also, as the story is sure to drive the headlines of the weekend. Qatar has also long been known to engage in significant lobbying efforts in Washington as well, and has an extensive international media reach – funded by its abundant oil and gas revenues – which it uses to plant influence abroad.
