The Vice-President of the European Parliament, the Greek Socialist Eva Kaili, has denied on Tuesday the accusations of corruption made against her after being arrested in Belgium for her alleged involvement in a scheme involving the payment of bribes by Qatar to gain influence in political and economic decision-making within the European institution.
One of his lawyers, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, has indicated in statements to Greek TV that the politician of the Hellenic country continues to defend his innocence. «He says he has nothing to do with the flow of money from Qatar, not at all,» said the lawyer, who has indicated that he does not know if money has been found and, if so, how much.
In this sense, he has denied the information spread by Greek media, which point to the finding of 160,000 euros hidden under the cradle of Kaili’s daughter. «There was no crib,» Dimitrakopoulos insisted.
Kaili is scheduled to go to testify on Wednesday before a court, which will decide whether to release her or extend her arrest. The socialist is one of the six suspects who have been detained in Belgium since Friday in the framework of the corruption scandal. For the moment, four of them are still in custody, including Kaili, her boyfriend and the former MEP Antonio Panzeri, according to information from the ERT channel.
The Greek authorities have frozen the assets of Kaili, her sister and her parents while investigating whether there is an illegal flow of money. For its part, the European Parliament will vote this afternoon on her possible dismissal as vice-president of the chamber.
