Greek Socialist MEP Eva Kaili was arrested on Friday amid a police probe into possible corruption at the European Parliament.
Kaili, one of 14 vice-presidents at the European legislative body, was brought in for questioning in Brussels on Friday evening in connection with an investigation into suspected corruption involving «a Gulf country», AFP and Belgian outlet Le Soir reported, quoting prosecutor’s office.
European Parliament sources told Euronews that Kaili’s office had been sealed by Belgium police, along with those of two Belgian socialist MEPs, Maria Arena and Marc Tarabella.
Arena denied any involvement, stating that the investigation involved her assistant instead.
«The seals were put because she worked for the NGO Fight Impunity, I believe, in 2019,» Arena told Le Soir. «It has nothing to do with the fact that she is my assistant.»
Four arrests had already taken place in the Belgian capital in the morning in the same case. Media outlets in Greece and Belgium reported that one of the four arrested is Kaili’s partner.
The Greek socialist party PASOK, of which Kaili is a member, announced on Friday evening that she was «expelled» from its membership.
The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament suspended Kaili’s membership «with immediate effect,» according to a statement shared by the group.
Belgium’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office said it recovered €600,000 in cash and seized computers and mobile phones in Friday’s swoop. A total of 14 locations were searched in the raids.
«For several months, investigators of the Federal Judicial Police have suspected a Gulf country to influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament, this is done so by paying large sums of money or offering large gifts to third parties with a significant political and/or strategic position within the European Parliament,» it said.
The prosecutor’s office did not name the country at the centre of the probe. Its press statement only referred to a «Gulf state». Le Soir identified the country as Qatar.
The beneficiaries are personalities with «a significant political and/or strategic position» in the European Parliament.
The arrested quartet are all believed to be Italian citizens: director of No Peace Without Justice NGO Niccolò Figà-Talamanca; trade union leader Luca Visentini; the former S&D MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri; and parliamentary assistant in the S&D group and Kaili’s partner, Francesco Giorgi, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
Kaili, 44, is a former Greek television presenter and MEP since 2014.
Contacted by Euronews, the European Parliament’s press services said that «the European Parliament does not comment on judicial proceedings».
«As always, the European Parliament fully cooperates with the national authorities in charge. The same in this specific case,» they added.
The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the largest in the hemicycle, said that «no stone should be left unturned» in the ongoing investigation.
«There is no place for corruption anywhere in the EU. The authorities have our full support,» the group said.
The Greens MEP from Germany, Anna Cavazzini, shared her surprise about Kaili’s arrest on Twitter.
«This is quite shocking if suspicions come true,» Cavazzini tweeted. «I heard her very pro-Qatar speech (at the) plenary and was extremely surprised about it.»
