Greek MEP and former vice-president of the European Parliament Eva Kali is facing yet another fraud investigation relating to alleged kickback payments she received after misrepresenting expense claims for four of her parliamentary aides, Politico reports.
Kaili, the poster girl for the Qatargate corruption scandal, is still under house arrest following her release from prison and is accused of lying to Parliament about the working arrangements for four of her aides between 2014 and 2020 to maximise reimbursements.
The Greek socialist MEP shot to notoriety following her high-profile arrest by Belgian police in December and her alleged role in the bribery scandal that has plagued the EU Parliament. Authorities famously seized €600,000 in cash from Kaili’s Brussels residence with accusations that she was a crucial cog in a cash-for-influence operation masterminded by Qatar and Morocco to whitewash their human rights record.
Kaili’s Greek New Democracy colleague Maria Spyraki is also implicated in this non-Qatargate-related probe by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), with the investigation examining fake work trips designed by Kaili and her aides to maximise claimed expenses.
Documents seen by Politico indicate that roughly €100,000 was swindled by her improper reporting of expenses.
Kaili is currently awaiting for her parliamentary immunity to be stripped, and her lawyers are promising to return any funds unfairly claimed. Lega MEP Stefania Zambelli was embroiled in a similar anti-fraud probe with the investigation becoming public in December days after Kaili’s arrest.
Kaili and her lawyers are currently seeking to have her house arrest lifted with the MEP currently under electronic tagging as part of her release. Kaili’s legal case is believed to have been seriously undermined after the alleged ringleader of the scandal, former Italian MEP Antonio Panzeri signed a plea deal with authorities for full cooperation in the criminal investigation.
All MEPs embroiled in the Qatargate scandal have been released from prison.
The EU Parliament’s Legal Affairs committee is expected to discuss the fallout of the scandal Tuesday, April 25th, in a closed session.
Since erupting late last year, the Qatargate scandal has brought into focus the subterranean role of NGOs and foreign influence operations in Brussels and has posed a particular challenge to the S&D group.
EU lawmakers are ruminating a new foreign agents law to clamp down on foreign influence operations with Brussels, with concerns that any measure could be politicised against right-wing populists.
