Four charged in connection with Qatar corruption scandal at European Parliament

Sursa: Twitter

Four people have been charged in connection with an anti-corruption investigation into the European Parliament in a graft case that has shocked Brussels.

European Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili and three others were charged and imprisoned on Sunday in Belgium as part of a police probe into alleged corruption linked with Qatar.

„Certainly the news is very worrisome,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters Monday as he arrived at a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Six people have been arrested since Friday in Brussels after investigators made multiple raids based on suspicions of „substantial” money payments by the Gulf state to influence MEPs.

Kaili  who is a Greek Socialist MEP and one of 14 vice presidents at the European legislative body  was charged with „corruption”.

She has been suspended from her party and withdrawn from duties, such as representing the head of the parliament in the Middle East.

The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office did not name the country, but a source close to the issue confirmed to French news agency AFP that it was Qatar. Other media have reported the same.

International anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International said it wasn’t “an isolated incident.”

. „For several decades, Parliament has allowed a culture of impunity to develop … and a total absence of independent ethical control”.

The other three individuals who have been charged were not named.

Spokesperson for Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, announced on Saturday evening said that “in the light of the ongoing judicial investigations carried out by the Belgian authorities, President Metsola has decided to suspend with immediate effect all the powers, duties and tasks that have been delegated to Eva Kaili in her capacity as Vice-President of the European Parliament.”

The allegations come at a sensitive time for Qatar as it hosts the World Cup. The Gulf State has already had to battle against claims around alleged human rights abuses of migrant workers and the LGBT+ community.

A Qatari government official told AFP that allegations of misconduct amounted to „serious misinformation.’

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