The European Union (EU) Parliament has voted for the termination of the appointment of Vice President Eva Kaili, over a bribery allegation traced to Qatar, the host of the 2022 world cup.
Recall that Eva Kaili alongside three others was imprisoned in Belgium following police investigation into alleged corruption linked with Qatar.
Greek socialist MEP Eva Kaili’s lawyer has declared that she “has nothing to do with Qatar’s bribes”, claiming she was innocent of the allegations
The parliament’s president, Maltese conservative Roberta Metsola, convened the leaders of political groups before calling on MEPs to vote “on the early termination of office of Vice President Eva Kaili”.
A Belgian judge will decide tomorrow whether to maintain her and three co-accused in custody pending her trial.
She was arrested last week during a series of raids on the homes and offices of several MEPs and their assistants or associates carried out by Belgian graft investigators.
Belgian prosecutors said 600,000 euros ($630,000) were found at the home of one suspect, 150,000 euros at the flat of an MEP, and several hundred thousand euros in a suitcase in a hotel room.
Some of these “bags of cash” were found in Kaili’s home, a judicial source said, leading a judge to conclude that, as she had apparently been caught red-handed her parliamentary immunity would not apply.
A Belgian judicial source told AFP that investigators believe that figures representing Gulf monarchy Qatar had been paying off European politicians to burnish the country’s image.
Qatar has denied any involvement in European corruption. “Any claims of misconduct by the State of Qatar are gravely misinformed,” an official told AFP.
Kaili’s lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos told private Greek television channel Open TV: “Her position is she is innocent. She has nothing to do with Qatar’s bribes.”
Asked if any cash was found at Kaili’s home, Dimitrakopoulos said: “I am not confirming or denying. There is confidentiality. I have no idea if money was found or how much was found.”
