Investigation into alleged Qatar-linked bribery stuns the European Parliament

Authorities in Belgium have started a sweeping operation to detain and question five people, including former and current members and employees of the European Parliament, as part of an inquiry into suspected bribes by Qatar, officials in Brussels say.

The police operation, which began Friday and was still underway Saturday, is focused on what could be the biggest scandal in the history of the parliament. Among those taken in for questioning, according to a Belgian official involved with the investigation, was Eva Kaili of Greece, one of the parliament's vice presidents.

“For several months, investigators of the Federal Judicial Police have suspected a Gulf country to influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament,” the Belgian prosecutor's office said in its news release. “This is done so by paying large sums of money or offering large gifts to third parties with a significant political and/or strategic position within the European Parliament.”

Belgian police said in a detailed statement Friday that their raids in 16 locations — including private residences across the capital, Brussels — had yielded a suitcase with $633,000 in cash. They also said they had seized computers and cellphones.

Although the police did not name the country linked to the inquiry in their news release, the Belgian official directly involved with the investigation and a European lawmaker who requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the news media, said it was Qatar. The Belgian official spoke on the condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to divulge further details publicly.

He said that the inquiry had been underway for at least four months, and that the possible crimes occurred during that period and potentially earlier.

The investigation comes as Qatar is hosting the men's soccer World Cup amid heightened scrutiny.

The scandal is likely to embarrass the Qatari government, which has faced criticism over the exploitation of migrant workers who helped build the tournament's infrastructure. In addition, the authoritarian country's criminalization of homosexuality has become a flashpoint among some Western teams and fans and FIFA, the governing body for global soccer. And corruption was also already a focus.

A Qatari government official said Saturday that the government was not aware of any details of a European investigation. The official said that any claims of misconduct by Qatar were gravely misinformed and that the state operated in full compliance with international laws and regulations.

The Belgian prosecutors questioning the five detainees have 48 hours, until Sunday afternoon, to charge them.

The European Parliament, together with the other key institutions of the 27-nation bloc, is based in Brussels, Belgium's capital.

The Belgian official said those detained include Kaili; her life partner, Francesco Giorgi, who works as an aide to another European lawmaker; Luca Visentini, the recently elected chief of the global workers union, the International Trade Union Confederation; and Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former member of the European Parliament.

The identity of the fifth person in custody was not known.

Kaili has been a prominent European Union lawmaker since 2014, taking on high-profile causes including cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence. Hours after the news of her detention became public, her party, Greece's center-left PASOK, expelled her from its ranks; the centrist Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament suspended her.

“We are appalled by the allegations of corruption in the European institutions,” said Jan Bernas, the parliamentary group's spokesperson. “The S&D Group has zero tolerance for corruption. We are the first to support a thorough investigation and full disclosure.”

Given the seriousness of the accusations, he said the group was seeking the suspension of any European Parliament work on files and plenary votes relating to Persian Gulf nations, especially ones involving visas and visits.

Panzeri had once been a member of the Socialists and Democrats grouping. The office at his nongovernmental organization, Fight Impunity, did not respond to a request for comment.

The International Trade Union Confederation declined to comment on the case.