European Parliament VP, Eva Kaili suspended after arrest in ‘Qatar’ corruption case

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Eva Kaili, vice president of the European Union’s parliament, was suspended on Friday by her party group after Belgian police carried out several raids linked to an investigation into suspected influence peddling at the EU assembly by Qatar.

The center-left Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament said that it “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.”

Kaili, a 44-year-old former Greek TV news anchor, was also suspended by her party at home – the Greek Socialist party, Pasok-Movement for Change. Pasok said it acted “following the latest developments and the investigation by the Belgian authorities into the corruption of European officials.”

Pasok and the S&D declined to provide further details.

Kaili’s suspension came after she was arrested by the Belgian police in connection with the ongoing probe in Qatar lobbying scandal that has rocked the EU.

Belgian police had staged 16 raids across capita city, Brussels, on Friday as part of a probe into corruption and money laundering involving the EU assembly and a Gulf country, the federal prosecutor’s office said. Prosecutors declined to name the country concerned.

In a statement, the Left group in the EU parliament demanded that what it called “the unfolding Qatar lobbying scandal” should be added to the assembly’s agenda next week so that further details about the affair can be established and an appropriate response considered” by lawmakers.

According to reports, Kaili was arrested by Belgian police after four others were detained. The developments happened after investigators recovered around 6,00,000 euros (INR 52,113,494) in cash and seized computer equipments and mobile phones during the raids.

Prosecutors said Belgium’s federal judicial police suspect Qatar of trying “to influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament.”

It said this was allegedly done “by paying large sums of money or offering large gifts to third parties with a significant political and/or strategic position within the European Parliament.”

The raids targeted in particular assistants working for EU lawmakers, the statement said. The EU assembly has 705 elected members from the bloc’s 27 member nations. Each lawmaker has a number of assistants.

The EU parliament’s press service declined to comment on the raids while an investigation was underway, but said the assembly was cooperating fully with Belgian police.

Kaili was elected in January as one of 14 vice presidents at the EU assembly, where she has served as a member since 2014.