Belgian justice decides on Thursday on whether or not to continue in detention Eva Kaili, charged this month in a corruption investigation involving Qatar and stripped of her position as vice-president of the European Parliament.
The hearing before the Brussels council chamber, which sits behind closed doors, is convened at 9:00 a.m. (08:00 GMT), and a decision is expected during the day.
In this scandal which has caused shock waves in the European Parliament and tensions between Qatar and the EU, the Greek MEP is part of a quartet of suspects imprisoned after an indictment for “belonging to a criminal organization”, ” money laundering” and “corruption”.
On December 14, the council chamber, a jurisdiction to review pre-trial detention, ordered the continued imprisonment of Francesco Giorgi, companion of Eva Kaili, and former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, who also appear as key figures folder.
The placement under electronic bracelet of the fourth defendant, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, was suspended due to the appeal lodged by the federal prosecutor’s office.
A former television news presenter who has become a controversial figure in the Greek Socialist Party (Pasok-Kinal) – which excluded her from the first revelations – Eva Kaili denies having received money from Qatar to influence her political decisions.
According to a Belgian judicial source, bags filled with banknotes worth 150,000 euros were discovered in his apartment in Brussels.
But Ms. Kaili “did not know of the existence of this money”, assured her Greek lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, accusing Mr. Giorgi of having “betrayed the trust” of his companion.
On the eve of the hearing in the council chambers, Me Dimitrakopoulos showed confidence.
“The situation is difficult but we have very solid arguments to have her released”, said the lawyer in front of journalists, advancing in particular “the absence of any risk of flight”.
– Twenty searches –
The investigation led by Belgian judge Michel Claise gave rise to twenty searches in Belgium between 9 and 12 December, including the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Eva Kaili’s father was kept in custody for 48 hours in the Belgian capital, while Mr. Panzeri’s wife and daughter, targeted by a European arrest warrant, were arrested in Italy. They challenged before the Italian courts their return to Belgium.
Above all, the Belgian investigators got their hands on 1.5 million euros in cash, according to the same judicial source.
In addition to the 150,000 euros discovered at Ms. Kaili’s, her father was surprised with a suitcase containing 750,000 euros in cash.
Finally, 600,000 euros were seized from the home of Mr. Panzeri, a former socialist elected member of the European Parliament who founded the NGO Fight Impunity in Brussels in 2019, whose three years of activity are now being scrutinized.
Italian trade union leader Luca Visentini, who knows Mr Panzeri, admitted this week to having received a cash donation of around 50,000 euros from Fight Impunity, but assured that it was not linked to any attempt at corruption or trafficking. influence for the benefit of Qatar.
Mr. Visentini, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC, Ituc in English), was also arrested on December 9 and spent 48 hours in police custody. On Wednesday, he was “suspended” from his post by the ITUC’s governing body.
On the diplomatic level, the scandal shakes the relationship between the EU and Qatar, which has warned of a possible “negative impact” on gas supplies.
The emirate, which “firmly rejects” the accusations, protested against a vote taken on December 15 in the European Parliament which aims to suspend access “for representatives of Qatari interests” during the investigation.
In addition to the immediately announced internal investigations – including one within the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group – Parliament voted on December 13 to remove Ms Kaili from her post as Vice-President.