Greek police officers have searched properties connected to the former Vice-President of the European Parliament and MEP Eva Kaili, one of the key figures implicated in the Qatargate corruption scandal.
According to Greek media reports, the 44-year-old's home in Athens was raided, as was the home of Kaili's sister Madalena, located in the nearby district of Kifissia.
Politico has also reported that Greek officials inspected a real estate firm co-owned by Kaili and her partner, former parliamentary assistant Francesco Giorgi.
The searches were ordered by the probe's new Belgian investigating judge Aurélie Dejaiffe, who took charge of the investigation after the previous judge, Michel Claise, recused himself following allegations of a potential conflict of interest. (Claise's son was found to have co-founded a business with Belgian MEP Marie Arena, who is also suspected of involvement in the scandal, although she has not officially been charged.)
According to Kaili's lawyer, a necklace belonging to Kaili and Giorgi's two-year-old daughter was seized. The laptops and mobile phones owned by Kaili, Giorgi, Kaili's sister, and brother-in-law were also examined, although they were not confiscated.
A Greek tragedy?
Kaili was arrested on 9 December last year on suspicion of accepting bribes and other favours from the Qatari and Moroccan governments in exchange for her support for pro-Qatari and pro-Moroccan legislation. She denies any involvement in the scandal.
Upon her arrest, federal investigators discovered €150,000 in cash at Kaili's Brussels apartment. A further €600,000 was found in a suitcase carried by Kaili's father as he was leaving a luxury hotel in central Brussels.
Following the revelations, Kaili was stripped of her position as Vice-President and expelled from her centre-left parliamentary group, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D).
Giorgi has already confessed to accepting bribes, although he denies that Kaili is guilty of any wrongdoing.
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In addition to his links to Kaili, Giorgi is a close associate of two other key figures implicated in the scandal. At the time of his arrest with Kaili on 9 December, Giorgi was working as a parliamentary assistant to Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino (S&D), who was just recently released from house arrest in Italy.
Giorgi also previously worked as an advisor to Italian former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri (S&D) who, like Giorgi, has already confessed to accepting bribes. Panzeri is now officially collaborating with the Belgian authorities, and has accused both Giorgi and Kaili of involvement in the scandal.
Following her arrest in December, Kaili remained in police custody until mid-April, when she was placed under house arrest. She was conditionally released last month, and has since been free to resume her parliamentary duties. However, she has reportedly not yet been seen around the European Parliament's offices.
