London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Greek MEP in custody and charged amid Qatar World Cup corruption probe

Greek MEP in custody and charged amid Qatar World Cup corruption probe

European Parliament vice-president and Greek socialist MEP Eva Kaili was one of four suspects to have been charged and detained.
A European Parliament vice-president, Greek socialist MEP Eva Kaili, was charged with corruption and remanded in custody on Sunday after Belgian investigators found “bags of cash” in her home.

Belgian police are investigating allegations that figures working on behalf of Qatar, the Gulf monarchy and World Cup host, have paid European politicians huge bribes to influence the Brussels policy debate.

Kaili, who has spoken publicly in support of Qatar’s recent labour reforms, was one of four suspects to have been charged and detained.

Two more have been released and the house of at least one more MEP has been searched by investigators.

The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office did not identify the four by name, but a judicial source confirmed to Agence France-Presse that Kaili was among those charged.

“Four individuals have been arrested by the Brussels investigating judge who is leading the investigation,” the federal prosecutor’s office stated.

“They are charged with participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering and corruption. Two persons have been released by the investigating judge.”

The arrests followed raids in Brussels which prosecutors said turned up €600,000 (US$630,000) in cash. Police also seized computers and mobile phones.

The second search of an MEP’s house is understood to have involved a Belgian member, since the president of the parliament, Roberta Metsola, was invited to witness the raid.

The judicial source identified him as Marc Tarabella, a Belgian socialist and vice-chair of the parliamentary delegation “for relations with the Arab peninsula”. He has not been charged.

Under the Belgian constitution the European Parliament president must attend if one of the country’s MEPs is targeted by a search, Metsola’s office confirmed.

A spokesman confirmed Metsola returned from Malta to Brussels late on Saturday to be present.

“The European Parliament and President Metsola stand firmly against corruption, are actively and fully cooperating with law enforcement and judicial authorities to assist the course of justice.”

The EU’s economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni on Sunday said the case was “seriously damaging” to the parliament’s reputation.

The former Italian prime minister said during a show on Italy’s state broadcaster Rai that if the allegations were confirmed, “I think it would really be one of the most dramatic corruption cases in recent years”.

Kaili has been stripped of her responsibilities as a vice-president of the parliament, notably that of representing Metsola in the Middle East.

She remains an MEP and would normally enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution.

But there is an exception in cases where a suspect is caught red-handed in the act of committing an alleged crime and, according to the judicial source, Belgian police detained Kaili in possession of “bags of cash” and thus she was brought before the judge.

Questions of corruption are now expected to hang over this week’s European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, where Kaili’s party grouping the Socialists and Democrats will be under pressure from opponents on the right and left.

French MEP Manon Aubry, co-Chair of the Left Group in the European Parliament, called on Kaili to resign her position as vice-president, for a full parliamentary debate on the affair on Monday and an internal parliamentary inquiry.

“What this affair demonstrates is the need to clean house in the institutions and to considerably reinforce the ethical rules …,” she tweeted on Sunday.

Metsola, herself a Maltese conservative, has called a meeting of the leaders of the parliament’s political blocs on Monday to discuss the Belgian investigation, two parliamentary sources told Agence France-Presse.

Some MEPs also now plan to oppose opening the debate on visa liberalisation for Qatari travellers, potentially derailing a major diplomatic goal of the gas-rich nation.

Among the six arrested on Friday, after at least 16 police raids of premises in Brussels, were the former MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri and his fellow Italian Luca Visentini, the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

According to Belgian media, Kaili’s father is also implicated, caught transporting cash “in a suitcase”.

“It is suspected that third parties in political and/or strategic positions within the European Parliament were paid large sums of money or offered substantial gifts to influence parliament’s decisions,” the prosecutor’s statement said, without pointing fingers at Qatar.

The scandal erupted during the 2022 football World Cup, an event Qatar had hoped would boost its reputation but which has been dogged by allegations of mistreatment of the migrant workers who built the host’s new stadiums.

Kaili visited Qatar just ahead of the World Cup and praised the country as a “front runner in labour rights” a sentiment she has repeated on the floor of the parliament, to the consternation of some MEPs.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
×