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Investigators Search EU Parliament in Fresh Corruption Scandal.
In what can be described as the latest scandal on the global stage, investigators from Belgium perused the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday in a probe into alleged bribes from World Cup host Qatar.
It was reported that the search would be the 20th search carried out since Friday, and the parliament president, Roberta Metsola, warned MEPs that “democracy is under attack”.
According to reports, Belgian police have charged four people, including European Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili, a Greek MEP.
Qatar has denied any wrongdoing. MEPs will debate the scandal on Tuesday.
Belgian prosecutors said cash worth about €600,000 ($632,000; £515,000) was found at the home of one suspect, €150,000 at the flat of an MEP and several hundred thousand euros in a suitcase in a Brussels hotel room. Computers and mobile phones were also taken.
Searches have taken place both in Brussels and in Italy. Since Friday, the IT resources of 10 parliamentary employees have been “frozen” to prevent the disappearance of data necessary for the investigation.
Four suspects arrested by Belgian police have been charged with “participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering and corruption”, prosecutors said in a statement on Sunday. They will appear before a pre-trial court on Wednesday.
Ms Kaili – an MEP for eight years – was suspended from her duties as one of 14 vice presidents by parliament president Metsola.
She has also been suspended from the parliament’s Socialists and Democrats Group and expelled from the Greek centre-left Pasok party.
Greek authorities have frozen assets belonging to Ms Kaili, her husband and immediate family members.
“She declares her innocence and that she has nothing to do with bribery from Qatar,” one of her family’s lawyers, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, told Greek TV on Tuesday.
Six people were detained on Friday as part of the investigation into allegations that Qatar bribed EU officials to win influence. Two were later released.
No suspects have been publicly named, but Ms Kaili is understood to be among those who have been indicted.
The three other accused are all Italian citizens, and her partner Francesco Giorgi, a parliamentary assistant, is reportedly charged.
