Corruption by Qatar?
Vice-President of the European Parliament arrested
Created: 2022-12-10 8:27 am
By: Kathrin Reikowski
The seat of the European Parliament in Brussels.
© dpa
Corruption scandal in the European Parliament: The Belgian police arrested a total of five people, including Vice President Kaili.
It's probably about Qatar.
Update from December 10, 7:55 a.m
.: The corruption scandal in the EU Parliament is spreading further.
As it became known in the early hours of the morning, the Belgian police arrested a total of five people, including the Vice President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili.
Corruption scandal in the EU Parliament: Vice President arrested
The Greek had already been expelled from her party, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok), on Friday evening.
The Socialist Group in the European Parliament suspended Kaili's membership with immediate effect.
According to the Belgian public prosecutor's office, there were 16 searches in the case on Friday.
Five people were arrested.
Kaili is one of 14 Vice-Presidents of Parliament.
Eva Kaili has been a member of the European Parliament since 2014.
© IMAGO/Eurokinissi
The investigations are about a suspected criminal organization, attempted influence by a Gulf state and allegations of corruption and money laundering, the authority said.
For several months, there have been suspicions that a Gulf state is trying to influence the political and economic decisions of the EU Parliament.
According to media reports, it is Qatar.
Substantial sums of money or gifts in kind are said to have been distributed to persons in Parliament who held a political or strategic position.
Arrests in the EU Parliament: Qatar is “a leader in labor rights
Kaili, who has now been arrested, gave a speech in the European Parliament on November 21 about the current World Cup in Qatar.
In it, the 44-year-old politician described the sporting event as proof "that sports diplomacy can bring about historic change in a country whose reforms have inspired the Arab world".
Qatar is a "leader in labor rights".
The majority of MEPs, meanwhile, were much more critical.
IPPEN.MEDIA was there at the time.
Corruption by Qatar?
Arrests in the EU Parliament
Brussels - It is said to be about alleged efforts by the Gulf state of Qatar to "influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament by paying considerable sums of money or giving significant gifts": Four men were arrested in Belgium on Friday on suspicion of corruption.
All those arrested are said to be Italian citizens or people of Italian descent.
According to the Belgian federal prosecutor's office, investigations are being carried out into "gang corruption and money laundering".
Federal prosecutors confirmed the arrests but did not provide any further information about the suspects or their nationality.
However, these are personalities who hold “an important political and/or strategic position” in Parliament.
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office is responsible for prosecuting organized crime and terrorism in Belgium.
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Corruption by Qatar: 16 searches in Brussels
According to the information, a total of 16 searches took place in Brussels, one of the places of work of the European Parliament, on Friday.
The police confiscated data carriers and mobile phones as well as cash in the amount of around 600,000 euros.
According to joint research by the French-language Belgian daily "Le Soir" and the Flemish-language weekly "Knack", the accused former MEP is the Italian Social Democrat Pier Antonio Panzeri, who sat in Parliament from 2004 to 2019 and today runs the non-governmental organization (NGO) Fight Impunity, which opposes human rights abuses.
A request from AFP about the investigation was initially unanswered by Fight Impunity.
According to "Le Soir" and "Knack", a parliamentary employee and the chairman of another NGO were also arrested - as well as the Secretary General of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Italian Luca Visentini.
The ITUC said on its website that the organization was "aware of the information disseminated in the press" but declined to comment "at this time".
Corruption because of Qatar: French judiciary has been investigating for three years
Visentini spoke earlier this week about the situation of workers in Qatar in an interview published by AFP on Friday.
In the conversation, he called in particular for "continuing to put pressure on the authorities and employers" in order to achieve better wages and more mobility at work.
For years, NGOs have accused Qatar, where the 2022 World Cup has been taking place since mid-November, of violating the human rights of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from Asia and Africa.
In response, Doha enacted labor law reforms.
While these have been welcomed by unions, they continue to call for stricter enforcement of the new rules.
The French judiciary has also been investigating suspected corruption at a joint luncheon for French and Qatari representatives in the Elysée Palace in Paris at the end of 2010 for three years, which is said to have favored the award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar shortly afterwards.
(AFP)
