It had come to authorities’ attention that the son of Michel Claise, the Belgian judge overseeing the investigation into corruption in the European parliament, runs a business with the son of socialist MEP Marie Arena.
Belgian police advised officials investigating the Qatargate scandal to keep their devices away from top-level meetings after Pegasus spyware was found on the phones of multiple officials.
Kaili fingered Spanish intelligence services in particular for orchestrating her downfall alleging that multiple security agencies were covertly spying on MEPs.
Kaili must now endure a criminal probe into allegations of kickbacks received for falsely documenting the expenses of her aides, even while she attempts to have her house arrest lifted.
Kaili’s defense team maintains that their client is innocent and was never bribed, as she “did not know about the existence” of the €150,000 in cash found in her Brussels apartment.
Most MEPs who have found themselves in the crosshairs of investigators are members of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) grouping in the European Parliament.
While main suspect Eva Kaili gets most of the attention, the corruption case’s wider ripple effect, particularly in diplomatic relations with the major energy supplier, is making itself felt.
