Bags Of Money: Qatar Accused Of Bribing EU Officials

December 13, 2022 European Union, Scandal

The Daily Beast reports:

Four European Union leaders have been charged with participation in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption, tied to alleged bribes from FIFA World Cup host Qatar. Raids on diplomats’ homes in Brussels and Strasbourg, where the E.U. parliament meets, uncovered “bags of money.”

Greek EU vice president Eva Kaili—who is languishing in a Belgium jail with three other leaders—was stripped of her position by senior European leaders on Tuesday and all four will face a court on Wednesday.

Kaili made several trips to Qatar in recent years and has campaigned for Qatari citizens to be granted visa-free travel to the European Union, citing them as a “front runner in human rights.”

The BBC reports:

Qatar has denied any wrongdoing. “Eva Kaili declares her innocence and that she has nothing to do with bribery from Qatar,” her lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos told Greek TV on Tuesday.

Prosecutors carried out a string of searches over several days and said cash worth about €600,000 ($632,000; £515,000) had been found at the home of one suspect, €150,000 at the flat of an MEP and several hundred thousand euros in a suitcase in a Brussels hotel room.

Belgian police released a photo on Tuesday showing piles of notes in €200, €50, €20 and €10 denominations. Reports said it added up to €1.5m (£1.3m).

Reuters reports:



Belgian prosecutors said they had suspected for more than four months that a Gulf state was trying to buy influence in Brussels. A source with knowledge of the case said the state was Qatar.

The European Parliament had been due to vote this week on a proposal to extend visa-free travel to the EU for Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Ecuador, but this has now been shelved.

The investigation comes as World Cup host Qatar is in the global spotlight, amid criticism of its human rights record, including its treatment of migrant workers.

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