During police questioning on Tuesday, the arrested Greek Socialist MP made a partial confession to commission his father, who was stopped by police as he left a Brussels hotel with a bag full of money. Kylie has previously warned her father about the large-scale actions of the Belgian investigators in the case – this can be read on the website of the daily.
Eva Kaili and three of her companions were arrested on December 9 as part of an investigation by the Belgian authorities on charges of corruption. According to the police, nearly 1.5 million euros were seized during house searches in the Brussels region in a corruption case.
Kylie’s detained partner, the Italian Francesco Giorgi, worked as an aide to the Belgian socialist in the European Parliament, Maria Arena. Giorgi admitted in his testimony last week that he was a member of a pressure organization that Morocco and Qatar used to interfere with the decisions of the European Parliament.
Also indicted are Niccolò Vega Talamanca, director of the NGO No Peace Without Justice, and former Italian socialist in the European Parliament, Pier Antonio Panzeri, who is currently president of the Brussels-based anti-impunity organisation.
According to the information, during an interrogation on Tuesday, Eva Cayley blamed Antonio Panzieri for the large amount of money found in his house. He said he was aware of his partner’s activities with Panziri and that they sometimes kept suitcases full of money in his apartment. He claimed that as soon as he became aware of the money, he demanded that it be returned to its owner, Panziri, immediately.
According to reports, Luca Visentini, the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, who was also arrested twelve days ago during the investigation of the case, said during his questioning on Tuesday: that he had received a donation of just under 50 thousand euros from the anti-impunity organization based in Brussels-based and led by Pier Antonio Panzeri. Visentini asserts that he accepted the money “because of the grantor’s rank and non-profit nature”. He said, “They didn’t ask me for anything, I didn’t ask for anything in exchange for money, and they didn’t put any conditions on the donation.”
He stated that the donation was not related to the corruption attempt and did not affect the union’s position, whether in the case of Qatar or in any other issue. He added that the purpose of the donation was not to prejudice his personal independence or that of the trade union. On the other hand, he said: He has always stressed the need to exert greater pressure on Qatar and the companies operating there, in order to reach the standard required by international trade unions in the field of protecting employee rights.
The former vice president of the European Parliament and his companions, who are being held in the women’s section of Haren prison in Belgium, are due to appear in court on Thursday, December 22. A decision on whether to remain in detention until the start of the trial will be made at the hearing on Thursday. They are accused of belonging to a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption. On Thursday, the European Prosecutor’s Office requested the suspension of the immunity of the former European Parliament vice-president.
Cover image: Getty Images
