Eva Kaili

Eva Kaili, a Greek lawmaker and a vice president of the European Parliament, was arrested in connection with the bribery probe.

The Belgian agency said the searches “were conducted as part of a major investigation for alleged offenses of criminal organization, corruption and money laundering.” The nation’s embassy in Brussels didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Eva Kaili, a Greek lawmaker and a vice president of the European Parliament was arrested in connection with the probe, as well as Antonio Panzeri, a former Italian deputy, according to media reports.

A Greek vice-president of the European Parliament and four Italians have been arrested in Brussels by police as part of an investigation into claims the ...

The public prosecutor’s office will decide tomorrow whether the five — including a former Italian MEP and a man thought to be Kaili’s partner — will continue to be held in custody. Belgian media claimed “bags of cash” had been found at the home of Eva Kaili, 44, who is a member of Greece’s left-wing Pasok party and one of the chamber’s 14 vice-presidents. A Greek vice-president of the European Parliament and four Italians have been arrested in Brussels by police as part of an investigation into claims the Qatari government has been trying to buy influence in the EU.

Bags of cash were found in the Brussels home of Greek MEP Eva Kaili who is suspected to be involved in a bribe scandal in Qatar.

Follow GR on [Google News ](https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqLQgKIidDQklTRndnTWFoTUtFV2R5WldWcmNtVndiM0owWlhJdVkyOXRLQUFQAQ)and [subscribe here ](https://greekreporter.com/about/newsletter/)to our daily email! It was also reported by Belgian media that the wife and daughter of the former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Pancheri were arrested on Friday in Bergamo, Italy. In 2011, there were concerns raised that Qatar had “bought” the World Cup by bribing FIFA officials. Kaili recently visited Qatar where she met with senior officials and ministers, including Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri, Minister of Labor. I alone said that Qatar is a frontrunner in labor rights, abolishing kafala and reducing minimum wage.” The fifth person is Nicolo Figa Talamanca, director of the NGO ‘No Peace Without Justice’.

A Greek MEP was suspended as a vice president of the European Parliament Saturday over a corruption probe implicating World Cup hosts Qatar that has ...

The secretary general of the International Trade Union Confederation, Italian Luca Visentini, was also among those reportedly arrested. The European Parliament had "become a law unto itself", said Van Hulten. A Qatari government official told AFP: "We are not aware of any details of an investigation. political transformation and reforms". The Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament has taken the decision to suspend MEP Eva Kaili’s membership of the S&D Group with immediate effect, in response to the ongoing investigations.— S&D Group (@TheProgressives) The ITUC said it was "aware" of the media reports. In a subsequent speech at the European Parliament she said Qatar was a "front-runner in labour rights". [Belgium](https://www.france24.com/en/tag/belgium/), said the "scandal opens multiple Pandora's boxes all at once", including "flawed EU ethics system for MEPs" and the "scale of foreign influence over EU". Kaili, 44, is the partner of one of the four others detained: Francesco Giorgi, a parliamentary assistant with the European Parliament's Socialists and Democrats group, said the source. [European Parliament](https://www.france24.com/en/tag/european-parliament/) president Roberta Metsola "has decided to suspend with immediate effect all powers, duties and tasks that were delegated to Eva Kaili in her capacity as Vice-President of the European Parliament," a spokesperson said. [corruption](https://www.france24.com/en/tag/corruption/) inside the European Parliament. A Greek MEP was suspended as a vice president of the European Parliament Saturday over a corruption probe implicating World Cup hosts Qatar that has ensnared four others and sparked calls for "root and branch reform" in the EU institution.

A former member of the European Parliament is among four people who have been arrested in an investigation into suspected bribery by a Gulf state.

A Qatari government spokesperson told AFP: "We are not aware of any details of an investigation. The BBC has not verified these claims. Computers and mobile phones were also taken by police in order to examine their contents. [including in its bid to host the 2022 football World Cup.](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63570556) The country denied the allegations and was cleared of corruption by Fifa. The day of the arrests, 9 December, was international anti-corruption day, designated by the UN and also marked by the European Parliament. Investigators had suspected that a Gulf state had been influencing economic and political decisions of the parliament for several months, a spokesperson for the Belgian federal prosecutor said in a statement.

POLITICO answers all your questions about the influence scandal rocking Brussels. qatargate. Suspended European Parliament vice-president Eva Kail and ...

“The State of Qatar works through institution-to-institution engagement and operates in full compliance with international laws and regulations.” [ said](https://transparency.eu/reaction-ep-qatar-scandal/) the Parliament has created a “culture of impunity … Sharan Burrow, the previous ITUC chief, urged external critics of the country’s labor laws to “go and have a look at a look at the change” in a [ video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqsqdALfKg8) posted by the Qatari labor ministry in June. “And so we have to really prevent this kind of capacity to influence.” At the moment, countries don’t have to register in the EU’s transparency register of interest groups, for example, and MEPs don’t need to report those contacts. That’s an apparent violation of the existing rules for EU-based groups that want to make their case in Parliament. Alberto Alemanno, a law professor at HEC Paris, called it the “most shocking integrity scandal in the history of the EU.” Similarly, 10 days ago, she showed up to vote in favor of visa liberalization for Qatar and Kuwait in the Parliament’s justice and home affairs committee — even though she’s not a member of the committee. The Qatar scandal could be “the most egregious case” of alleged corruption Parliament has seen in years, said Transparency International chief Michiel van Hulten. According to [ local press](https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/opinion/04/11/2022/european-parliament-vp-qatars-reforms-in-labour-market-are-of-european-recognition), she said she was there representing 500 million European citizens who see the country’s progress as representing common values. A member of the center-left Socialist & Democrat (S&D) party, her portfolio includes special responsibilities related to the Middle East. Initially, the culprits weren’t major names by Brussels standards: A former member of the European Parliament, a few parliamentary assistants, and a trade union boss, all allegedly on the take for World Cup host Qatar.

The Greek MEP was detained Friday as part of a corruption probe into alleged illicit lobbying activities by Qatar.

In November, Tarabella told POLITICO that, thanks to the World Cup, Qatar has become “a But she cannot be jettisoned completely from the vice president role before a vote by [top political group leaders](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/about-parliament/en/organisation-and-rules/organisation/political-bodies) in the assembly and then the full Parliament. The raid took place in the presence of Metsola, the newspaper said. Tarabella has not been arrested, according to the report. [good example](https://www.politico.eu/article/qatar-world-cup-2022-human-rights-labor-laws-football-emmanuel-macron-gianni-infantino/) to follow for the other countries in the neighborhood.” One of those duties was to replace Metsola on Middle East issues.

A Belgian judge is expected on Sunday to announce formal charges for several people arrested in an alleged corruption scandal involving World Cup host Qatar ...

For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. Compare Standard and Premium Digital For a full comparison of Standard and Premium Digital,

Four suspects have been charged and remanded in custody in a Belgian investigation into alleged corruption at the European Parliament tied to Qatar, ...

[Kaili](https://www.france24.com/en/tag/greece/), who has spoken publicly in support of Qatar's recent labour reforms, was one of four suspects to have been charged and detained. Kaili visited Qatar and its Labour Minister Ali bin Samikh al Marri just ahead of the World Cup and praised the Gulf nation as a "frontrunner in labour rights", a sentiment she has repeated on the floor of the parliament, to the consternation of some MEPs. But there is an exception in cases where a suspect is caught red-handed in the act of committing an alleged crime and, according to the judicial source, Belgian police detained Kaili in possession of "bags of cash" and thus she was brought before the judge. Kaili has been stripped of her responsibilities as a vice president of the parliament, notably that of representing Metsola in the Middle East, but she is still an MEP and would normally enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution. "We can confirm that EP President Metsola has returned from Malta to Brussels on Saturday evening to be present at a house search of a Member of European Parliament," the spokesman said. The second search of an MEP's house is understood to have involved a Belgian member, since the president of the parliament, Roberta Metsola, was invited to witness the raid.

At least 16 raids were conducted in Brussels, which helped the police recover €600000 in cash, along with mobile phones and computers. Eva Kaili, a vice ...

[FIFA](/fifa-world-cup-2018-in-russia)World Cup 2022, though the country denied such allegations and was subsequently cleared by FIFA as well. The Socialists and [Democrats Group](/topic/democrats-group), to which Kaili belonged, said it had a “zero tolerance” policy for corruption and it would carry out an independent investigation. The investigators claimed that Doha was targeting aides in the parliament by offering large sums of money or gifts to those holding a significant political position. [Qatar](/topic/qatar)emerged after the Belgian federal police conducted at least 16 raids. The police have accused the EU lawmaker was bribed by Doha. At first, complete identity wasn’t confirmed, but it was revealed that those arrested included a vice president of the

Belgian prosecutors charged European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili and three others with corruption on Sunday in a major investigation into an alleged ...

Panzeri’s wife and daughter were arrested by Italian police on Friday in the investigation, [according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera](https://bergamo.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/22_dicembre_09/pier-antonio-panzeri-moglie-figlia-arrestate-loro-casa-calusco-56fb3f0e-77ea-11ed-8b31-7101dab59dee.shtml?refresh_ce) and confirmed by POLITICO. The group has been Her responsibilities as a vice president include the Middle East. She has emerged as one of the most vocal defenders of Qatar, recently calling the country a “ She also was The four will remain in custody.

In a Belgian investigation into alleged corruption in the European Parliament linked to Qatar, four suspects have been charged and held in custody, ...

In a Belgian investigation into alleged corruption in the European Parliament linked to Qatar, four suspects have been charged and held in custody, according to prosecutors. The four were not named by the federal prosecutor's office, but a legal source confirmed to AFP that they included Eva Kaili, a Greek socialist MEP and one of the vice presidents of the parliament. "Four individuals have been arrested by the Brussels investigating judge who is leading the investigation," the Belgian federal prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Greek MEP Eva Kaili has been placed under arrest by a Brussels federal prosecutor on Sunday in the Qatar corruption scandal.

Follow GR on [Google News ](https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqLQgKIidDQklTRndnTWFoTUtFV2R5WldWcmNtVndiM0owWlhJdVkyOXRLQUFQAQ)and [subscribe here ](https://follow.it/greekreporter-com)to our daily email! A Qatari government official told AFP: “We are not aware of any details of an investigation. Eva Kaili was suspended as a vice president of the European Parliament Saturday. [latest news](https://greekreporter.com/greek-news) from Greece and the world at [Greekreporter.com](https://greekreporter.com). Kaili suspended as a vice president of the European Parliament According to ‘Le Soir‘ and ‘Knack‘, the second raid on Saturday night was at the home of Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella, while European Parliament President Roberta Metsola was also confirmed to have asked to be present during the raid, as required by Belgian law for lawmakers elected in Belgium.

European Parliament vice-president Eva Kaili has had her tasks suspended but retains her seat until a formal vote is taken. The move follows allegations of ...

The current chair of the subcommittee is Belgian socialist Marie Arena. The lead MEP heading the file, German Green Erik Marquardt, also said he would vote against it. [Read and decide]() Arena, Tarabella and Kailli voted against a proposal by the Left that demanded a plenary debate and resolution on human rights in Qatar. [the majority in the socialist group voted against ](https://euobserver.com/world/156450)a proposal that would require an EU parliament plenary debate and vote on Qatari human rights. [European Trade Union Confederation](https://euobserver.com/eu-political/145519) before becoming president of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). An early termination requires a vote on a proposal by the conference of presidents, a body composed of parliament's political leadership, before going to a plenary vote. [according to the EU parliament's rule book.](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RULES-9-2021-09-13-RULE-021_EN.html) She is one of 14 vice-presidents in the European Parliament and was handed the role, at the start of the year, to replace Metsola for missions throughout the Middle-East. "In the light of the ongoing judicial investigations by Belgian authorities, President Metsola has decided to suspend with immediate effect all powers, duties and tasks that were delegated to Eva Kaili in her capacity as Vice-President of the European Parliament," said the spokesperson. Kaili has since been expelled from the Greek socialist Pasok party as well as from the European Parliament's Socialist and Democrats group. The move follows allegations of corruption likely over Qatar as well as a spate of arrests by the Belgian police, involving some €600,000 in cash, as first reported by Belgian media outlets

Greek socialist MEP Eva Kaili (pictured), 44, is one of four suspects to have been charged and detained in relation to a police investigation into alleged ...

Under the Belgian constitution the European Parliament president must attend if one of the country's MEPs is targeted by a search. According to a judicial source, Belgian police detained Mrs Kaili in possession of 'bags of cash' and so she was brought before a judge. [was arrested on Friday](/news/article-11522373/EU-vice-president-arrested-amid-corruption-probe-linked-World-Cup-hosts-Qatar.html) and has now been charged, along with three others. In the EU Parliament she is a member of the center-left Socialists and Democrats group - although she has been suspended pending investigations. Eva Kaili, 44, is a Greek MEP and a member of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement and the Greek Socialist Party, called the Pasok-Movement for Change. The vice-president of the EU Parliament has been charged with corruption after Belgian police found 'bags of cash' in her home.