Qatargate Scandal: Arrest Warrant Reveals Millions in Secret Payments to EU Lawmakers

Former Parliament vice president Eva Kaili is facing corruption charges and an arrest warrant that points to “several million euros” in payments made through an alleged bribery ring at the European Parliament. The warrant alleges that “considerable sums of money” were paid secretly in cash by Morocco and Qatar. Kaili is the highest-ranking EU lawmaker to be caught up in the Qatargate scandal, which Belgian police are investigating.

According to the warrant, Kaili placed calls to the alleged ringleader, Pier Antonio Panzeri, and two other unnamed EU lawmakers, after her partner Francesco Giorgi was arrested in December. The warrant claims that Giorgi was the go-between connecting Panzeri and Kaili. It also alleges that Giorgi was unofficially helping Kaili pay off a second apartment purchased under her name, citing the arrangement as evidence that she was aware of her partner’s Qatargate income.

Kaili has denied any wrongdoing, as has Giorgi. The Qatari government has also denied any corruption allegations. The arrest warrant alleges that Kaili instructed her father to take €150,000 from her apartment and that she was aware of her husband’s and Panzeri’s activities. Kaili’s lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, stated that there is no evidence to support the assertion that Kaili ordered her father to hide the money.

Belgian authorities announced that they had recovered about €1.5 million in cash from the key suspects in the Qatargate probe, including €150,000 found at Kaili’s apartment and another €150,000 found in a suitcase her father was carrying at the Brussels Sofitel hotel. The arrest warrant also mentions some €700,000 found in Panzeri’s house, but the total falls well short of the “several million” mentioned in the warrant, suggesting the suspects received additional payments that have yet to be recovered.

The Qatargate scandal is part of a sprawling probe into whether foreign countries, including Qatar and Morocco, illegally influenced the Parliament’s work. The arrest of Kaili, Giorgi, and Panzeri highlights the extent of the alleged bribery ring and raises questions about the involvement of other EU lawmakers. The investigation is ongoing, and further arrests may be made in the coming weeks.