The corruption scandal surrounding the Vice President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, is getting worse and worse. Kaili is now in custody. Bags containing 160,000 euros were found during a search of her apartment. Her sister is also to be questioned by the authorities – she works in the office of the Vice President of the European Parliament.
On Friday, the Deputy President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, was arrested in her Brussels apartment in the course of a corruption scandal. The detention of Kaili and three other suspects was ordered on Sunday, the AFP news agency learned from judicial circles.
Now it comes out: During a search of Kaili’s apartment, 160,000 euros in cash were found. This is reported by the Greek daily newspaper “Protothema”. The Belgian newspaper L’Echo had previously reported that investigators had discovered “several sacks full of banknotes” at Kaili’s.
Mantalena Kaili, the sister of the EU Parliament President Eva Kaili, who is in custody, will also have to answer questions from the Belgian authorities in the next few days. The Greek television channel “Mega Tv” and the Sunday newspaper “Proto Thema” report this in unison. Mantalena Kaili, who works as a researcher and adviser on European policy and legislation at Kaili’s office, may play a key role in the corruption scandal. The Greek media had already accused Eva Kaili of nepotism when it came to the administration of her office by her sister Mantalena.
Mantalena Kaili would be the third person from the close family circle of the European Vice President of Parliament who is being questioned by the Belgian authorities. This is a common practice in such cases. Eva Kaili’s partner Francesco Giorgi and her father Alexandros Kailis had previously been arrested. The latter has been free since Sunday.
A total of five suspects were arrested on Friday for “gang corruption and money laundering”. It was the Greek Kaili and four Italians, including Kaili’s partner, who also works in the EU Parliament, and ex-EU MP Pier Antonio Panzeri. According to Protothema, Kaili is about to be taken to Saint-Gilles women’s prison.
The scandal revolves around the suspicion that the Gulf state and soccer World Cup host Qatar tried to influence decisions of the European Parliament with considerable sums of money and gifts. According to the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, a total of around 600,000 euros in cash as well as data carriers and mobile phones were confiscated during the raids.
As a consequence of the allegations, the Greek socialist Pasok party expelled Kaili from its ranks on Friday. On Saturday, the Socialist Group in the European Parliament announced that the 44-year-old ex-TV presenter’s membership had been suspended.
EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola finally declared that Kaili would lose “all powers, duties and tasks” as her deputy with immediate effect. According to information from parliamentary circles, Metsola wants to discuss Kaili’s complete dismissal as one of the 14 vice-presidents in the European Parliament with the leaders of the parliamentary groups on Monday.
