Eva Kaili

Pier Antonio Panzeri was reportedly detained Friday after police launched an investigation into alleged illicit lobbying activities by Qatar.

[Brussels investigators](https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium-police-raid-gulf-lobbying-eu-parliament/) is that Qatar used money and gifts to influence economic and political decisions in the European Parliament. As well as Panzeri, an Italian who served with the center-left Socialists and Democrats group until 2019, Panzeri, who used to chair the European Parliament sub-committee on human rights, is the head of an NGO called Fight Impunity which sets out to “promote the fight against impunity in the event of serious violations of human rights and crimes against humanity.” The NGO was raided yesterday, [according to Belgian press reports](https://www.lesoir.be/482251/article/2022-12-09/antonio-panzeri-le-porteur-de-cash). [le Soir reported](https://www.lesoir.be/482251/article/2022-12-09/antonio-panzeri-le-porteur-de-cash). [European Parliament vice-president Eva Kaili was also detained, according to the Belgian press](https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium-police-raid-gulf-lobbying-eu-parliament/). [mushrooming corruption scandal](https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium-police-raid-gulf-lobbying-eu-parliament/) involving alleged illicit lobbying activities by Qatar, [according to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera](https://bergamo.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/22_dicembre_09/pier-antonio-panzeri-moglie-figlia-arrestate-loro-casa-calusco-56fb3f0e-77ea-11ed-8b31-7101dab59dee.shtml?refresh_ce) and confirmed by POLITICO.

Police investigating the suspected bribery by Qatar at the European Parliament have found large amount of cash in the home of Greek MEP Eva Kaili, ...

“Bags of cash found at the home of the European Parliament vice-president,” the headline in L’Echo stated. The publication said that Eva Kaili’s father was allegedly found “in possession of a suitcase full of cash and was on the move, having been alerted by his accomplices, as investigators believe.” Police investigating the suspected bribery by Qatar at the European Parliament have found large amount of cash in the home of Greek MEP Eva Kaili, a Belgian business daily has reported.

BRUSSELS (AP) — A vice president of the European Union's parliament was suspended Friday by her party group after Belgian police carried out several raids ...

The raids targeted in particular assistants working for EU lawmakers, the statement said. Prosecutors declined to name the country concerned. Kaili, a 44-year-old former Greek TV news anchor, was also suspended by her party at home — the Greek Socialist party, Pasok-Movement for Change.

European Parliament vice-president and Greek Socialist MEP Eva Kaili was arrested on Friday as the police investigate possible corruption at EP.

[Le Soir](https://www.lesoir.be/482264/article/2022-12-10/le-qatar-soupconne-darroser-de-gazodollars-le-parlement-europeen) identified the country as Qatar. [Download the Newsbook App](/app) Computers and mobile phones were also seized during the search.

International, MNA | Belgian police arrested Greek socialist MEP Eva Kaili, one of the vice-presidents of the European Parliament, in Brussels on Friday ...

But a source close to the case confirmed press reports that it was focused on suspected attempts by Qatar to corrupt an Italian Socialist who was a member of the European parliament from 2004 to 2019. Kaili, who is the partner of one of the four people arrested earlier, as detained for questioning by the police, the source added. Belgian police arrested Greek socialist MEP Eva Kaili, one of the vice-presidents of the European Parliament, in Brussels on Friday evening, a source close to the case told AFP.

Eva Kaili, a Greek lawmaker and a vice president of the European Parliament, was arrested in connection with the bribery probe.

The Belgian agency said the searches “were conducted as part of a major investigation for alleged offenses of criminal organization, corruption and money laundering.” The nation’s embassy in Brussels didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Eva Kaili, a Greek lawmaker and a vice president of the European Parliament was arrested in connection with the probe, as well as Antonio Panzeri, a former Italian deputy, according to media reports.

A Greek vice-president of the European Parliament and four Italians have been arrested in Brussels by police as part of an investigation into claims the ...

The public prosecutor’s office will decide tomorrow whether the five — including a former Italian MEP and a man thought to be Kaili’s partner — will continue to be held in custody. Belgian media claimed “bags of cash” had been found at the home of Eva Kaili, 44, who is a member of Greece’s left-wing Pasok party and one of the chamber’s 14 vice-presidents. A Greek vice-president of the European Parliament and four Italians have been arrested in Brussels by police as part of an investigation into claims the Qatari government has been trying to buy influence in the EU.

Bags of cash were found in the Brussels home of Greek MEP Eva Kaili who is suspected to be involved in a bribe scandal in Qatar.

Follow GR on [Google News ](https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqLQgKIidDQklTRndnTWFoTUtFV2R5WldWcmNtVndiM0owWlhJdVkyOXRLQUFQAQ)and [subscribe here ](https://greekreporter.com/about/newsletter/)to our daily email! It was also reported by Belgian media that the wife and daughter of the former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Pancheri were arrested on Friday in Bergamo, Italy. In 2011, there were concerns raised that Qatar had “bought” the World Cup by bribing FIFA officials. Kaili recently visited Qatar where she met with senior officials and ministers, including Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri, Minister of Labor. I alone said that Qatar is a frontrunner in labor rights, abolishing kafala and reducing minimum wage.” The fifth person is Nicolo Figa Talamanca, director of the NGO ‘No Peace Without Justice’.

A Greek MEP was suspended as a vice president of the European Parliament Saturday over a corruption probe implicating World Cup hosts Qatar that has ...

The secretary general of the International Trade Union Confederation, Italian Luca Visentini, was also among those reportedly arrested. The European Parliament had "become a law unto itself", said Van Hulten. A Qatari government official told AFP: "We are not aware of any details of an investigation. political transformation and reforms". The Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament has taken the decision to suspend MEP Eva Kaili’s membership of the S&D Group with immediate effect, in response to the ongoing investigations.— S&D Group (@TheProgressives) The ITUC said it was "aware" of the media reports. In a subsequent speech at the European Parliament she said Qatar was a "front-runner in labour rights". [Belgium](https://www.france24.com/en/tag/belgium/), said the "scandal opens multiple Pandora's boxes all at once", including "flawed EU ethics system for MEPs" and the "scale of foreign influence over EU". Kaili, 44, is the partner of one of the four others detained: Francesco Giorgi, a parliamentary assistant with the European Parliament's Socialists and Democrats group, said the source. [European Parliament](https://www.france24.com/en/tag/european-parliament/) president Roberta Metsola "has decided to suspend with immediate effect all powers, duties and tasks that were delegated to Eva Kaili in her capacity as Vice-President of the European Parliament," a spokesperson said. [corruption](https://www.france24.com/en/tag/corruption/) inside the European Parliament. A Greek MEP was suspended as a vice president of the European Parliament Saturday over a corruption probe implicating World Cup hosts Qatar that has ensnared four others and sparked calls for "root and branch reform" in the EU institution.

A former member of the European Parliament is among four people who have been arrested in an investigation into suspected bribery by a Gulf state.

A Qatari government spokesperson told AFP: "We are not aware of any details of an investigation. The BBC has not verified these claims. Computers and mobile phones were also taken by police in order to examine their contents. [including in its bid to host the 2022 football World Cup.](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63570556) The country denied the allegations and was cleared of corruption by Fifa. The day of the arrests, 9 December, was international anti-corruption day, designated by the UN and also marked by the European Parliament. Investigators had suspected that a Gulf state had been influencing economic and political decisions of the parliament for several months, a spokesperson for the Belgian federal prosecutor said in a statement.

POLITICO answers all your questions about the influence scandal rocking Brussels. qatargate. Suspended European Parliament vice-president Eva Kail and ...

“The State of Qatar works through institution-to-institution engagement and operates in full compliance with international laws and regulations.” [ said](https://transparency.eu/reaction-ep-qatar-scandal/) the Parliament has created a “culture of impunity … Sharan Burrow, the previous ITUC chief, urged external critics of the country’s labor laws to “go and have a look at a look at the change” in a [ video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqsqdALfKg8) posted by the Qatari labor ministry in June. “And so we have to really prevent this kind of capacity to influence.” At the moment, countries don’t have to register in the EU’s transparency register of interest groups, for example, and MEPs don’t need to report those contacts. That’s an apparent violation of the existing rules for EU-based groups that want to make their case in Parliament. Alberto Alemanno, a law professor at HEC Paris, called it the “most shocking integrity scandal in the history of the EU.” Similarly, 10 days ago, she showed up to vote in favor of visa liberalization for Qatar and Kuwait in the Parliament’s justice and home affairs committee — even though she’s not a member of the committee. The Qatar scandal could be “the most egregious case” of alleged corruption Parliament has seen in years, said Transparency International chief Michiel van Hulten. According to [ local press](https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/opinion/04/11/2022/european-parliament-vp-qatars-reforms-in-labour-market-are-of-european-recognition), she said she was there representing 500 million European citizens who see the country’s progress as representing common values. A member of the center-left Socialist & Democrat (S&D) party, her portfolio includes special responsibilities related to the Middle East. Initially, the culprits weren’t major names by Brussels standards: A former member of the European Parliament, a few parliamentary assistants, and a trade union boss, all allegedly on the take for World Cup host Qatar.

The Greek MEP was detained Friday as part of a corruption probe into alleged illicit lobbying activities by Qatar.

In November, Tarabella told POLITICO that, thanks to the World Cup, Qatar has become “a But she cannot be jettisoned completely from the vice president role before a vote by [top political group leaders](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/about-parliament/en/organisation-and-rules/organisation/political-bodies) in the assembly and then the full Parliament. The raid took place in the presence of Metsola, the newspaper said. Tarabella has not been arrested, according to the report. [good example](https://www.politico.eu/article/qatar-world-cup-2022-human-rights-labor-laws-football-emmanuel-macron-gianni-infantino/) to follow for the other countries in the neighborhood.” One of those duties was to replace Metsola on Middle East issues.