Suspected corruption in Brussels: Vice President of the EU Parliament arrested

Several people have been arrested in connection with the corruption investigation in Brussels. According to media reports, one of them is the Vice-President of the European Union Parliament, Greek Kaili.

European Parliament Vice President Eva Kelly has been arrested in connection with a corruption investigation in Belgium. This has been reported unanimously by several news agencies. Greki had already been expelled from his party, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), in the evening. The Socialist Group in the European Parliament also suspended Kelly’s membership with immediate effect.

As of this year, Kelly is one of 14 Deputy Speakers of Parliament, of which he has been a member since 2014. According to the Belgian public prosecutor, the investigation is about a suspected criminal organization, an attempt to influence by a Gulf state, and allegations of corruption and money laundering. There were 16 searches and five arrests. Among other things, 600,000 euros in cash and mobile phones were seized.

Qatar’s hand is being told behind this

For several months, it has been suspected that a Gulf state is trying to influence political and economic decisions of the EU Parliament. According to media reports, it is being told of Qatar, but it has not been officially confirmed yet. Large sums of money or gifts in kind are said to have been distributed to people holding political or strategic positions in Parliament.

Kelly, who has now been arrested, gave a speech to the European Parliament on 21 November about the ongoing World Cup in Qatar. In it, he described the sporting event as proof “that sports diplomacy can drive historic change in a country whose reforms have inspired the Arab world”. For example, Qatar is a leader when it comes to labor rights. Kelly had earlier met with Qatar’s Labor Minister Samekh Al Marri, Qatari EU ambassador Christian Tudor wrote on Twitter.

The EU Parliament’s press service did not want to comment on the raid because of the ongoing investigation. He only said that the Chamber was cooperating fully with the Belgian police.