WEB DESK
The European Parliament’s political groups today voted to remove Eva Kaili from her role as vice president. The decision came over a major corruption scandal that came to notice earlier this weekend in Qatar.
Eva Kaili was among four people who were recently arrested in Belgium. They have been charged over allegations that World Cup host Qatar bribed them with cash and gifts to influence decision-making. However, Kaili’s lawyer said that she denied any wrongdoing in her first public comment on the case. Earlier, Greece froze Kaili’s assets after she was arrested for the alleged corruption charges and she was suspended from her duties as one of the 14 vice presidents. Kaili has been a vocal supporter of Qatar.
She has also been suspended from the Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats Group and expelled from the Greek center-left Pasok party. The Socialists and Democrats Group remarked that it had a zero-tolerance policy for corruption and it would carry out an independent investigation.
The Belgian police searched 16 homes in and around Brussels on Friday as part of the inquiry. Belgian police claimed to have found cash worth about 6,00,000 euros at the home of one suspect, and 150,000 euros at the flat of a member of European Parliament. The police also said that they had found several hundred thousand euros in a suitcase in a Brussels hotel room and had seized computers and mobile phones.
In an official statement, Qatar has denied the charges. The Gulf nation said that it categorically rejected attempts to associate it with misconduct accusations. It claimed that the Qatari regime operated in complete compliance with international laws and regulations.