Eva Kaili, a member of the European Parliament suspected of corruption, has been detained for the time being. The competent court in Brussels on Thursday extended the pre-trial detention of the former Vice-President of the European Parliament by one month, the competent prosecutor’s office announced. The 44-year-old Greek woman can appeal the decision.
The Belgian judiciary has been investigating alleged corruption, money laundering and foreign influences in the vicinity of the European Parliament for months. The Gulf Emirate of Qatar is said to have tried to influence political decisions with money and goods. According to reports, Morocco attempted to do the same.
Kaili and three other suspects were therefore taken into custody on December 11. They are suspected of involvement in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption. A magistrate ruled last week that two of them should remain in pre-trial detention.
These are Kaili’s partner, who works as an assistant to an MEP, and former socialist MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri. Another suspect was released from prison wearing an ankle bracelet. Kaili’s lawyers had also pleaded for their client.
Lawyer claims innocence
“Eva Kaili is innocent,” her lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos confirmed before the Brussels court on Thursday. The day before, he had told Greek journalists that the former TV presenter was in poor mental health. She feels betrayed by her partner, Dimitrakopoulos said after talking to Kaili for several hours in prison. “She trusted him, he betrayed her.”
Kaili herself has so far denied any blame, blaming her partner for the large amount of cash in the shared apartment. At the same time, according to her lawyer, she admitted, among other things, that on the day of the raid by Belgian detectives she had ordered her father to take cash from her apartment to a Brussels hotel.
Ahead of Thursday’s hearing, Dimitrakopoulos stressed that Kaili was not at risk of going into hiding, nor was it possible for her to destroy evidence. Another argument is that Kailis’ two-year-old daughter is now effectively an orphan because both parents are in prison. According to Greek media, the child is with his grandfather, the suspect’s father. (zis/SDA)