The historic corruption scandal involving politician Eva Kaili continues. As it now turns out, employees of two NGOs that work for human rights and against corruption are also involved in the affair. That is known on the sixth day.
After a nerve-wracking weekend with searches of several apartments in Brussels and arrests, the corruption scandal surrounding the European Parliament has no end. On Friday it turned out that a Gulf state, presumably the World Cup host country Qatar, is said to have tried to influence the decisions of the committee by means of considerable sums of money and gifts. At the center of the scandal is the EU Vice President Eva Kaili. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the authorities found “sacks full of cash” in her apartment. So far, the Belgian police have confiscated almost 1.5 million euros in 20 house searches.
Kaili was arrested over the weekend along with five other suspects. Two of them have been free since Sunday. Kaili and four others remain in custody.
The most important questions and answers about the scandal in the heart of Europe:
Who is accused in the corruption scandal?
The central protagonist is the Greek politician and Vice President of Parliament Eva Kaili. In the run-up to the scandal, she attracted attention with her pro-Qatar attitude. For example, after a meeting with the Qatari labor minister, she praised the Gulf state for its labor rights and cited the World Cup as “proof” of “how sports diplomacy can lead to a historic transformation of a country whose reforms have inspired the Arab world”. The Belgian authorities confiscated “sacks full of cash” worth 600,000 euros from her apartment in Brussels.
Of the six other detainees, only three names have become public knowledge:
- Antonio Panzeri: leading MEP in the Social Democrats group, left the EU Parliament in 2019 and founded the NGO “Fight Impunity”
- Alexander Kailis: Father of Eva Kaili
- Francesco Giorgi: partner of Eva Kaili,
- Luca Visentini: General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation
Visentini and Kaili’s father were released from prison on Sunday. Eva Kaili as well as Panzeri, Giorgi and an unnamed person have been in custody since then. They are accused of involvement in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption. Two people were also arrested in Italy in connection with the EU corruption scandal: Panzeri’s wife and daughter.
What does all this mean for Eva Kaili?
The socialist Pasok party excluded the 44-year-old on Friday. A day later, the Social Democratic Group in the European Parliament suspended the politician’s membership. In addition, EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola withdrew Kaili “with immediate effect from all powers, duties and tasks” as one of her 14 deputies. Finally, on Tuesday, Kaili lost her post as Vice-President of the European Parliament. A decision will be made on Wednesday as to whether she must remain in custody.
Kaili protests her innocence through her lawyer. “It has nothing to do with money flows from Qatar, nothing at all,” says Michalis Dimitrakopoulos. She is “innocent”. Only her partner, the Italian Francesco Giorgi, who was also arrested on charges of corruption, could give “answers about the existence of this money”. Her hearing had been postponed to December 22 at the request of the defense, her lawyer André Risopoulos told the AFP news agency on Wednesday. Until then, Kaili will likely remain in detention.
What does the NGO “Fight Impunity” have to do with this?
Eva Kaili’s partner Francesco Giorgi worked in the office of an EU parliamentarian. He also chaired the Human Rights Commission in Parliament until 2019. He also worked as a consultant for the foundation of ex-EU politician Antonio Panzeri. He chaired the parliamentary human rights commission until 2019.
Investigations are also being carried out against two NGO employees whose names the public prosecutor’s office did not want to reveal. The two are said to have last worked for two MEPs: Marc Tarabella, whose apartment was also searched, and the social democrat Marie Arena. Both parliamentarians worked together with Panzeri on one – but according to a report by the Austrian “Standard” they deny any connection to the foundation and the allegations in connection with the corruption scandal.
What is the burden on the NGO?
According to the foundation, “Fight Impunity” is committed to human rights worldwide. She is also committed to fighting corruption. above all EU parliamentarians, who have not been active in the body since 2019. However, only the so-called “honorary members” are listed. The “Team” section is empty.
The club is particularly burdened by the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, Luca Visentini. According to his own statements, he attended a number of NGO conferences, but then it turned out “that it was a criminal organization that was plotting bribes in the name and on behalf of the government of Qatar and, it seems, Morocco in order to trying to get more favorable terms from the European Parliament”. He submitted the necessary information to the judiciary and was released on this basis “with some minimal conditions”.
Who is still developed in the scandal?
As the “Neue Züricher Zeitung” reports, Niccolò Figà-Talamanca was also among those arrested in Brussels. He is Secretary General of the organization “No Peace Without Justice”, which according to the “NZZ” was located in the same building as “Fight Impunity” in Brussels. To what extent Figà-Talamanca is involved in the scandal is still unclear.
Have the organizations already responded?
no There are no public reactions to the connections mentioned with the EU corruption allegations on the websites of the NGOs.
Sources: “”, “”, “”, “”, with material from AFP and DPA
Source: Stern
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