BRUSSELS, 12 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Belgian Justice has decided on Wednesday the release with surveillance with an electronic bracelet of the socialist MEP Eva Kaili, dismissed as vice president for her involvement in the bribery plot of Qatar and Morocco to gain influence in the institutions of the European Union.
As reported by the Belgian newspaper ‘Le Soir’, the investigating judge has issued probation for the Greek politician, who will be released from prison after five months, after she was arrested on December 9 in the framework of the plot for which There are six people charged, including the Belgian Socialist MEP Marc Tarabella, who will also be released from preventive detention with the same measure of surveillance.
The Prosecutor’s Office is not opposed to the release of Kaili, forced to remain at home, according to sources from the Public Ministry consulted by the RTBF chain.
Both MEPs are accused of corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organization. Kaili retains her seat as an MEP but she was dismissed as vice-president of the European Parliament after her arrest.
The Belgian Police seized 1.5 million euros in cash during searches last December of the homes of Kaili and the former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, at the center of the plot.
The other defendants are Panzeri, who has reached an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office to obtain a sentence reduction in exchange for pointing out others involved and giving details of the plot; Parliament assistant Francesco Giorgi, Kaili’s partner and on probation since the end of February; the lobbyist Niccolo Figa-Talamanca and the general secretary of the European Trade Union Conference, Luca Visentini.
For her part, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has promoted changes to increase transparency and avoid revolving doors in the institution. After breaking the scandal, the ‘popular’ Maltese promised reforms to avoid bribery after ‘Qatargate’ and so that those for whom “a bag of money is worth” know that they will be “discovered”.
