The developments in the Qatargate scandal case in the European Parliament are becoming an avalanche. So far four people have been arrested, including the Greek vice-president of the European Parliament Eva Kaili and her partner Francesco Giorgi.
Eva Kaili, whose assets were frozen in Greece, was remanded into custody on Sunday by the judge tasked with investigating the case, and will appear on Wednesday in a hearing before a judge in Brussels, as stated in a new announcement by the federal prosecutor’s office.
She herself, from the prison she is in, presents for the first time her position – through her lawyer – regarding the charges brought against her by the Belgian authorities.
Pleading “not guilty”
Lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, who represents the MEP in Greece, emphasized that Eva Kaili declares her innocence and argued that she has nothing to do with the accusations.
“Her position is that she is innocent. It has nothing to do with financing from Qatar,” he said characteristically.
He, however, states that he has no idea if money was found or how much was found. “I neither confirm nor deny, there is secrecy.”
“All I can tell you, because I spoke to her sister, is that there is no crib for the little child where the money was found hidden. I deny this to you explicitly because her sister, Ms. Magdalena Kaili, also told me,” added Mr. Dimitrakopoulos speaking to Open tv.
Regarding Eva Kaili’s father, Alexandros Kailis, he clarified that no restrictive conditions were imposed on him by the Belgian authorities and that “he is free if he wants to come to Greece” but “when a father sees his child in such a difficult position he stays by his child”.
The European Socialists deleted Kaili from the Eurogroup
In the meantime, on Monday afternoon the Group of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament decided to delete Eva Kaili. The decision is effective immediately and follows the suspension of membership decided last Friday.
Besides, this is the day on which Ms. Kaili was brought in for questioning by the Belgian authorities. At the same time, the S&D announced that it requested the removal of Eva Kaili from the position of vice-president of the European Parliament, during a plenary meeting this week, based on Article 21 of the internal regulation.
“We are shocked by the allegations of corruption in the European Parliament. S&D Group has zero tolerance for corruption. We support a thorough investigation and full disclosure. We will fully cooperate with all investigative authorities,” S&D said.
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