Qatar is said to have bribed EU Vice President Eva Kaili (44) and other EU parliamentarians to represent the interests of the desert state in Brussels. Detectives are currently investigating this suspicion; a total of 16 house searches were carried out, Belgian newspapers report.
The clues not only lead to an influential politician in the EU parliament, but also to Italian and Belgian suspects. Many of them are social democrats.
Eva Kaili and three Italians accused of corruption were still detained on Monday morning. The Greek anti-money laundering authority has since frozen Kaili’s assets. Top EU parliament officials now want to lift their immunity – that would pave the way for an indictment.
NGO Fight Impunity at the center of corruption scandal
Among the arrested Italians is Francesco Giorgi (37), Kaili’s partner. He is a former parliamentary assistant and specialist in human rights and foreign affairs. Giorgi founded an NGO called Fight Impunity, which claims to be dedicated to fighting corruption.
Pier Antonio Panzeri (67) is chairman of Fight Impunity and former Socialist MEP. He is also in prison. He is accused of “interfering politically with members of the European Parliament in favor of Qatar and Morocco”. That reports “Politico”. His wife Maria Colleoni (68) and his daughter Silvia (38) have been under house arrest since Friday. They risk up to five years in prison for money laundering.
The third detainee is Niccolò Figà-Talamanca. He is director general of the NGO No Peace Without Justice. The non-governmental organization operates at the same address as “Fight Impunity”.
Employee representatives free again
One of the suspects has also been provisionally released under conditions, Luca Visentini. Visentini is the highest employee representative in the world. He is Secretary General of the International Trade Union Confederation with over 200 million members.
Until a few weeks ago, Visentini was also Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation – and no stranger to this country. He repeatedly praised wage protection in Switzerland.
Who’s who of top politics distances itself from “Punishment”
Explosive: Several powerful EU politicians were active in the fight against impunity. The list of names reads like a who’s who of top European politics: former French prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve (59), former EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos (69), former parliamentarian Cecilia Wikström (57) and former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini ( 49).
They all had jobs at Fight Impunity, but over the weekend they distanced themselves from the NGO and resigned.
The house of Belgian MEP Marc Tabarella was also searched
Police also sealed the office of an unnamed parliamentary assistant who used to work for Fight Impunity and is currently a staff member in the office of Belgian Socialist MEP Marie Arena, 55.
Arena, who inherited the chairman of the human rights subcommittee from Panzeri and worked closely with Fight Impunity, confirmed to Belgian media that the office was sealed. She herself said she was not questioned by the police.
Qatar denies allegations
House searches were also carried out in the house of Belgian Member of Parliament Marc Tabarella (60) and detectives went to the office of one of his employees. Tabarella is also a Social Democrat. “I have absolutely nothing to hide and will answer all questions,” he told the Belga news agency on Sunday.
However, Qatar rejects all allegations. “Any connection by the government of Qatar to the reported allegations is baseless and seriously uninformed,” the foreign ministry said.