EU official held in Qatar corruption inquiry

A EUROPEAN Parliament vice-president and four other people have been arrested in Brussels in a corruption inquiry implicating Qatar.

Police arrested Eva Kaili, 44, a Greek socialist MEP, hours after the four others had been detained for questioning. At least three were Italian citizens or originally came from Italy, a source said.

Ms Kaili’s partner, Francesco Giorgi, a parliamentary assistant with the Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats group, was among the four, they added.

Pier-Antoni Panzeri, a former Italian socialist MEP, was also reportedly arrested. All five were still being questioned yesterday, said a spokesman for Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office.

The investigation concerns “corruption” and “money laundering”, the prosecutor added.

The arrests came after a series of raids in Brussels which Belgian prosecutors said turned up €600,000 ($630,000) in cash.

Computers and mobile phones were also seized in the inquiry into an unnamed Gulf state suspected of trying to influence the Parliament through cash payments or gifts.

Belgian daily L’Echo reported that “several bags full of (money) notes” were found at Ms Kaili’s Brussels home which police decided to search after her father was caught carrying a large amount of cash in a suitcase.

A legal source close to the case confirmed reports the country concerned was World Cup host Qatar.

Ms Kaili, a former television presenter and one of the parliament’s 14 vice-presidents, visited Qatar last month. In a video statement at the time, she said the parliament “recognised and respected” Qatar’s progress in labour reforms.

The arrests have led to calls for major reforms to the parliament, including greater oversight.