LeSoir: The suspects of the corruption scandal in the European Parliament began to testify

BRUSSELS, December 20 – RIA Novosti. The suspects in the corruption scandal in the European Parliament have begun to testify, Belgian publication reported on Tuesday. LeSoir referring to the documents of the investigation.

In particular, Greek citizen Eva Kaili, who until recently served as Vice-President of the European Parliament, admitted that she delivered a briefcase containing euro cash to her father in Brussels, which she had to hide. She also admitted that these funds were in her apartment, she said.

Earlier, the politician’s father was detained by the police in a hotel in Brussels with a large amount of cash.

On the other hand, the newspaper claims that former European Parliament Member Antonio Panzeri, who is considered to be the organizer of corruption schemes, partially admitted to being involved in the scandal related to Qatar and Morocco’s intervention in EU affairs. Pantseri was detained in his Brussels apartment where 600,000 euros in cash was found.

The investigation documents also include the names of three other lawmakers who may have been involved in corruption.

In early December, Belgian police and prosecutors carried out multiple arrests and searches in Brussels, home of the European Parliament, amid investigations of corruption suspicions regarding the holding of the World Cup in Qatar. Police specifically detained the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Greek politician Eva Kaili, and her partner, and searched her residence.

We’re talking about possible “big cash prizes” and “expensive gifts” to support Qatar’s application as it prepares to host the World Cup.

It was learned last week that Belgian investigators seized more than 1.5m euros in cash and valuable gifts from the suspects. Kylie was expelled from her home country political party and also lost her position in the European Parliament.

In addition, Belgian media reports that besides Qatar, MEPs of the European Parliament are also trying to be influenced by Morocco.

European Parliament president Roberta Metsola said she plans to “restore its reputation” for this important European institution, which has been implicated in one of the most high-profile corruption scandals in recent years. In particular, she seeks to propose changing the order of interaction between deputies and representatives of foreign states and organizations. The proposed reform includes strengthening the parliamentary system for the protection of whistleblowers, banning informal friendship associations with foreign countries, and revising the code of conduct for lawmakers.