- Elsa Mishman
- BBC News
Four people have been charged in an investigation on suspicion of a member of the European Parliament and employees of the European institution receiving bribes from a Gulf state, reportedly Qatar.
Greek MEP and Vice-President of the European Parliament, Eva Kayli, was among those previously arrested in the case.
Prosecutors suspect that the Gulf state tried to influence parliament’s decisions with financial donations or gifts.
Local media reported that the accused country was Qatar, which the Qatari government denied.
Monitoring bodies and opposition MEPs said the case could be one of the biggest corruption scandals the European Parliament has ever seen.
Kayli, one of 14 elected vice-presidents, was suspended from the Socialists and Democrats group in Parliament and expelled from the Greek Socialist Party – the Pazuk.
Belgian police seized cash worth about 600,000 euros ($632,000) in 16 searches in Brussels on Friday. Computers and mobile phones were also confiscated in order to check their contents.
A total of six persons were detained for questioning, while two of them were released.
“The investigating judge in Brussels who is leading the investigation has arrested four individuals,” the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
“They are accused of participating in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption. The investigating judge released two people,” he added.
The Public Prosecutor said that investigators had suspected that a Gulf country had been influencing the economic and political decisions of Parliament for several months, especially by targeting its aides.
Local media reported that the suspected Gulf state was Qatar.
“We are not aware of any details of an investigation. Any allegations of misconduct by the State of Qatar are seriously misleading,” a Qatari government spokesman told AFP.
He added that the country “acts in full accordance with international laws and regulations”.
A European Parliament spokesman told Reuters he would not comment on the ongoing investigation but would work with local authorities if necessary.
Kylie’s responsibilities as Vice President, Middle East include. She has been a defender of Qatar in the past.
In a speech she gave last month on the issue of human rights and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, she described Qatar as a “pioneer in the field of workers’ rights” by abolishing the sponsorship system, a legal procedure followed in many Gulf states that human rights groups compare to modern slavery.
“The World Cup in Qatar is, in fact, proof that sports diplomacy can bring about a historic transformation in a country whose reforms have inspired the Arab world,” she said.
Kylie accused some members of the European Parliament of bullying and discriminating against Qatar, adding, “They accuse everyone who talks to Qataris of corruption.”
Qatar has previously been accused of corruption, including in its bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The country has denied these allegations and FIFA has cleared it of corruption.
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