Zürcher Nachrichten - Greek MEP stripped of vice president status over Qatar graft probe

EUR -
AED 3.889183
AFN 71.737571
ALL 98.132997
AMD 409.225232
ANG 1.899671
AOA 964.599267
ARS 1057.242735
AUD 1.628259
AWG 1.900647
AZN 1.794683
BAM 1.955443
BBD 2.128312
BDT 125.956987
BGN 1.955461
BHD 0.399131
BIF 3112.860661
BMD 1.058857
BND 1.417054
BOB 7.283669
BRL 6.082285
BSD 1.054057
BTN 88.945449
BWP 14.380508
BYN 3.449002
BYR 20753.5882
BZD 2.124712
CAD 1.484088
CDF 3033.62413
CHF 0.936432
CLF 0.03737
CLP 1031.146428
CNY 7.663266
CNH 7.659053
COP 4663.087732
CRC 536.806992
CUC 1.058857
CUP 28.059698
CVE 110.244858
CZK 25.29501
DJF 187.704569
DKK 7.459216
DOP 63.508996
DZD 141.267524
EGP 52.372947
ERN 15.882848
ETB 130.479893
FJD 2.402755
FKP 0.835773
GBP 0.835965
GEL 2.895998
GGP 0.835773
GHS 16.811928
GIP 0.835773
GMD 75.178395
GNF 9083.426191
GTQ 8.143512
GYD 220.51971
HKD 8.242309
HNL 26.625387
HRK 7.553098
HTG 138.466009
HUF 406.533113
IDR 16770.699322
ILS 3.959404
IMP 0.835773
INR 89.367811
IQD 1380.912907
IRR 44583.154415
ISK 144.501697
JEP 0.835773
JMD 167.291015
JOD 0.750839
JPY 163.876581
KES 136.761754
KGS 91.596627
KHR 4259.262033
KMF 494.035988
KPW 952.970485
KRW 1475.569683
KWD 0.32563
KYD 0.878348
KZT 525.928877
LAK 23156.987783
LBP 94390.645726
LKR 307.096792
LRD 193.423794
LSL 19.089593
LTL 3.126528
LVL 0.640492
LYD 5.148302
MAD 10.553472
MDL 19.152682
MGA 4927.146315
MKD 61.523759
MMK 3439.124741
MNT 3597.994469
MOP 8.451855
MRU 42.025719
MUR 49.23062
MVR 16.358998
MWK 1827.783315
MXN 21.481182
MYR 4.744204
MZN 67.654933
NAD 19.089593
NGN 1766.204789
NIO 38.793279
NOK 11.664231
NPR 142.307344
NZD 1.799018
OMR 0.407745
PAB 1.054007
PEN 4.006468
PGK 4.240265
PHP 62.134004
PKR 292.816466
PLN 4.313576
PYG 8215.886871
QAR 3.844098
RON 4.975673
RSD 116.980344
RUB 105.624971
RWF 1447.949126
SAR 3.975036
SBD 8.88425
SCR 14.356313
SDG 636.917254
SEK 11.573079
SGD 1.41828
SHP 0.835773
SLE 23.958456
SLL 22203.697248
SOS 602.395628
SRD 37.488815
STD 21916.192572
SVC 9.223402
SYP 2660.408674
SZL 19.082694
THB 36.604709
TJS 11.21558
TMT 3.716586
TND 3.331491
TOP 2.479945
TRY 36.641203
TTD 7.15576
TWD 34.400131
TZS 2803.814207
UAH 43.653736
UGX 3870.292875
USD 1.058857
UYU 45.201741
UZS 13505.170252
VES 48.421804
VND 26910.838985
VUV 125.709576
WST 2.955894
XAF 655.843368
XAG 0.033979
XAU 0.000406
XCD 2.861613
XDR 0.801861
XOF 655.86814
XPF 119.331742
YER 264.581812
ZAR 19.005095
ZMK 9530.97796
ZMW 29.067062
ZWL 340.951374
  • RBGPF

    1.6500

    61.84

    +2.67%

  • CMSD

    -0.0150

    24.425

    -0.06%

  • BCC

    1.0550

    141.145

    +0.75%

  • JRI

    0.1400

    13.24

    +1.06%

  • RYCEF

    0.0700

    6.85

    +1.02%

  • CMSC

    0.0500

    24.62

    +0.2%

  • SCS

    0.0750

    13.305

    +0.56%

  • RIO

    1.2350

    62.215

    +1.99%

  • NGG

    -0.0100

    62.74

    -0.02%

  • RELX

    0.6150

    45.065

    +1.36%

  • BCE

    0.3700

    27.19

    +1.36%

  • GSK

    0.4100

    33.76

    +1.21%

  • AZN

    0.1200

    63.35

    +0.19%

  • VOD

    0.1550

    8.925

    +1.74%

  • BP

    0.4800

    29.46

    +1.63%

  • BTI

    0.2150

    36.605

    +0.59%

Greek MEP stripped of vice president status over Qatar graft probe

Greek MEP stripped of vice president status over Qatar graft probe

A Greek MEP was suspended as a vice president of the European Parliament Saturday over a corruption probe implicating World Cup hosts Qatar that has ensnared four others and sparked calls for "root and branch reform" in the EU institution.

Text size:

European Parliament president Roberta Metsola "has decided to suspend with immediate effect all powers, duties and tasks that were delegated to Eva Kaili in her capacity as Vice-President of the European Parliament," a spokesperson said.

Earlier Saturday, Metsola said on Twitter that the parliament "stands firmly against corruption", adding they would so everything they could to "assist the course of justice".

Socialist MEP Eva Kaili was arrested on Friday hours after four others were detained for questioning.

The announcement came amid mounting outrage over the allegations and calls for action to tackle corruption inside the European Parliament.

"Over many decades, the Parliament has allowed a culture of impunity to develop, with a combination of lax financial rules and controls and a complete lack of independent (or indeed any) ethics oversight," Transparency International's director Michiel van Hulten said.

The European Parliament's Greens group called for a full investigation into allegations of bribery by Qatar.

"We will not accept business as usual...," the group said. "We must strengthen our rules so this cannot happen again."

The European Parliament had "become a law unto itself", said Van Hulten. "It is time for root and branch reform."

Alberto Alemanno, a law professor based in Belgium, said the "scandal opens multiple Pandora’s boxes all at once", including "flawed EU ethics system for MEPs" and the "scale of foreign influence over EU".

- Corruption, money laundering -

At least three of the others arrested were either Italian citizens or originally came from Italy, a source close to the case told AFP.

Kaili, 44, is the partner of one of the four others detained: Francesco Giorgi, a parliamentary assistant with the European Parliament's Socialists and Democrats group, said the source.

Former Italian MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri, who served as a socialist in the parliament between 2004 and 2019, was also reportedly arrested.

Belgium's federal prosecutor's office said the investigation concerned suspected "corruption" and "money laundering".

In Rome, a government source confirmed to AFP reports that Panzeri's wife and daughter had been detained.

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

Belgian daily L'Echo reported that "several bags full of (cash) notes" had been found at Kaili's Brussels home.

While prosecutors did not name the country under investigation, a legal source close to the case confirmed to AFP Belgian press reports that it was Qatar.

- Kaili expelled from party -

Kaili is a former television presenter and one of the European Parliament's 14 vice presidents. In November, just prior to the World Cup, she met Qatar's Labour Minister Ali bin Samikh Al Marri.

In a video statement posted on Twitter by the Qatar News Agency, she said: "I believe the World Cup for Arabs has been a great tool for... political transformation and reforms".

In a subsequent speech at the European Parliament she said Qatar was a "front-runner in labour rights".

In Athens Friday, the president of the Greek socialists (PASOK) Nikos Androulakis announced on Twitter that Kaili had been expelled from the party.

On Saturday, the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament announced they had suspended her membership.

- Qatar denial -

A Qatari government official told AFP: "We are not aware of any details of an investigation. Any claims of misconduct by the State of Qatar are gravely misinformed."

The country "operates in full compliance with international laws and regulations", he added.

Panzeri, 67, currently heads a Brussels-based human rights organisation called Fight Impunity.

World Cup host Qatar has striven to improve its image in the face of criticism over its record on worker protections and human rights.

Migrant workers make up more than 2.5 million of Qatar's 2.9 million population.

T.L.Marti--NZN