Police arrest EU Parliament Vice President
Photo: Eva Kaili, EU Parliament VP
The police on Friday in Brussels arrested Eva Kaili, a Greek socialist leader and one of the vice-presidents of European Parliament.
Reports said that she was arrested in connection with a corruption investigation involving FIFA World Cup hosts Qatar.
Sources said that the arrest stemmed from the detainment of four others.
Kaili is said to be the partner of one of the four arrested suspects, who were earlier detained by the police.
According to Belgium’s federal prosecutor about 600,000 euros in cash was discovered when police raided 16 addresses due the raids in the capital, Brussels.
The prosecutors said, “Four people were arrested for questioning and may be brought before the investigating judge.
“Among those questioned was a former member of the European parliament.”
They, however, did not specify the identities of the suspects or name the country involved, saying only that it was a “Gulf” state.
According to reports, the ex-MEP who was detained was the Italian socialist and ex-MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri.
AFP reports that a source close to the case confirmed media reports that it was focused on unraveling alleged attempts by Qatar to corrupt an Italian Socialist who was a member of the European parliament from 2004 to 2019.
