Disgraced Greek MEP Eva Kaili has alleged that five nations, including Spain, conducted covert surveillance against the European Parliament in an explosive interview with El Mundo released over the weekend. In the long-form interview, Kaili defended her innocence insisting that her downfall was orchestrated primarily by the Spanish intelligence services seeking to discredit her work on the Pegasus committee: investigating the illicit use of spyware technology.
The former vice-president of the European Parliament Kaili shot to infamy after Belgian police raided her Brussels apartment in December and discovered €150,000 in cash alleging that the Greek politician was a cog in a multifaceted bribery scandal led by the Qatari and Moroccan governments to whitewash their human rights record. Kaili has been on a media offensive in recent weeks; a similar interview was published with the Italian press attempting to clear her name.
Speaking to El Mundo, Kaili claims that the entire ordeal was a “political operation” motivated by her work on the parliament’s Pegasus Committee and that the money found in a bag at her apartment belonged to Antonio Panzeri, an ex-MEP and ringleader of the corruption network. Kaili claimed she had no idea about the bag’s contents.
The Pegasus spyware scandal implicates multiple European governments alleged to have been covertly tapping the phones of journalists, NGO workers, and other officials. The scandal has rocked Spanish politics in particular with the revelation that over 200 individuals had their phones tapped with accusations that the Moroccan intelligence services were involved in a complex series of blackmail operations.
Kaili goes on to claim that Spain, France, Morocco, Belgium, and even Ecuador all had a hand in spying on European officials and that she was being targeted for her role in unravelling the espionage. The Greek MEP also denied owning multiple Panama-based bank accounts and any links to the Qatari regime.
The European Parliament presented its report on Pegasus spyware last month, demanding that public figures be better protected from espionage in the future.
The so-called Qatargate scandal has dominated EU politics in recent months, with allegations that high-level MEPs have been compromised by foreign governments, compelling Parliament to address serious questions about reforming its ethical guidelines.
Belgian authorities this week linked the Qatari embassy to suspicious cash withdrawals. Kaili remains the sole official still placed under house arrest.
