At the end of the day, the Belgian judiciary must decide whether the former Vice-President of the European Parliament can be released from custody and placed under electronic surveillance as requested by her lawyers.
Belgian justice will say at the end of the day on Thursday whether Eva Kaili, charged in a corruption investigation in Qatar this month, can be released from prison and placed under electronic surveillance at the request of her lawyers.
The 44-year-old Greek MEP, who was ousted from her position as vice-president of the European Parliament after the first revelations on December 13, appeared on Thursday morning during a behind-closed-doors hearing outside the Brussels Council Chamber.
On that occasion, she reiterated her innocence, her attorneys told the outlet. Eva Kaili “is innocent and has never been corrupted,” Michalis Dimitrakopoulos told the press. His Belgian colleague André Risopoulos clarified that Eva Kaili, who has been detained since December 11, had asked to benefit from placement under electronic surveillance. The council chamber will have to make its decision “probably late” at the end of the day, Me Risopoulos added, assuring that his client “takes an active part in the investigation”.
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In the scandal that sent a shockwave through the European Parliament and tensions between Qatar and the EU, Eva Kaili is among a quartet of suspects jailed on charges of “affiliation with a criminal organization”, “money laundering” and “money laundering”. . and “corruption”.
On December 14, it was decided to keep Francesco Giorgi, companion of the Socialist MEP, and former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, also key figures in the file, in prison. A fourth defendant, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, head of an NGO, was ordered that day to be placed under an electronic bracelet, but the measure was stayed pending appeal by federal prosecutors.
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Such a measure, granted to Eva Kaili by the Council Chamber, could also be vetoed by the prosecutor.
The former TV news presenter turned controversial figure in the Greek Socialist Party (Pasok-Kinal) – which excluded her from the initial revelations – Eva Kaili continues to deny receiving money from Qatar to influence her political decisions.
Bags containing banknotes worth 150,000 euros were discovered in his Brussels apartment, according to a Belgian judicial source. But Eva Kaili “didn’t know anything about the existence of this money”, had already asserted Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, according to which Francesco Giorgi “betrayed” the trust of his companion.
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A million and a half in cash
The investigation, led by Belgian judge Michel Claise, led to 20 searches in Belgium between December 9 and 12, including the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Eva Kaili’s father was detained for 48 hours in the Belgian capital, while Pier Antonio Panzeri’s wife and daughter, who were the subject of a European arrest warrant, were arrested in Italy. They challenged their return to Belgium before the Italian courts.
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According to the same court source, Belgian investigators got their hands on €1.5 million in cash. In addition to the 150,000 euros found on Eva Kaili, her father was surprised with a suitcase containing 750,000 euros in cash. Finally, 600,000 euros were confiscated from the home of Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former socialist-elected MEP who founded the NGO Fight Impunity in Brussels in 2019, whose three-year activity is now being put to the test.
Italian union leader Luca Visentini, who knows Pier Antonio Panzeri, admitted this week to receiving a cash donation of around €50,000 from Fight Impunity but assured it was not linked to any attempt at corruption or drug trafficking by Qatar . Luca Visentini, Secretary General of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the subject of the investigation, was released under judicial supervision on 11 December after two days in police custody. He was “suspended” from his post by the ITUC Executive Committee on Wednesday.
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At the diplomatic level, the scandal has shaken relations between the EU and Qatar, which have warned of a possible “negative impact” on gas supplies. The emirate, which “strongly denies” the allegations, protested a December 15 vote in the European Parliament aimed at suspending access “for representatives of Qatari interests” during the investigation.
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