The Italian boyfriend of EU politician Eva Kaili has admitted his part in the Qatar bribery and begged for her release so she can care for their baby, according to court documents.
Francesco Giorgi, 35, the boyfriend of Greek MEP Eva Kaili, confessed to and apologised for the scandal in front of Brussels magistrates and said that Ms Kaili wasn’t involved.
Former EU parliament vice-president Kaili, 44, her partner Giorgi, ex-MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri and lobbyist Niccolò Figa-Talamanca are all charged with corruption, money laundering and organised crime.
Belgian cops say the group were given the money by ‘Gulf State’ officials – widely thought to be Qatari – as part of a scheme to buy influence in the EU parliament.
Francesco Giorgi, 35, the boyfriend of Greek MEP Eva Kaili, confessed to and apologised for the bribery scandal
Belgian police have released a picture of euro notes worth £500,000 they discovered stuffed inside a suitcase in anti-corruption raids at the weekend
Investigators say a total of £1.3million was seized by investigators, who carried out raids inside her flat and Panzeri’s home.
Giorgi, who is from Milan, admitted: ‘I did everything possible for money I didn’t need,’ according to court documents seen by Belgian newspaper Le Soir and Italy’s La Repubblica.
‘I will do everything possible so that my partner is free and can take care of our 22-month daughter.’
In the statements, recorded on December 10, Giorgi said he worked closely with Panzeri and the cash he received had nothing to do with his partner Ms Kaili.
He said he was just a ‘simple person’ but that he had become ‘overwhelmed’ by a sense of ‘moral debt’ to Panzeri, La Repubblica reported.
This was backed up by Kaili’s lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, who said in a broadcast: ‘The money that was found in her house did not belong to her, Giorgi is the only one who can provide answers about its existence.’
Kaili, Giorgi and Panzeri remain in custody and a decision will be made on December 22 as the investigation continues.
The four were arrested late last week by investigators who also seized a suitcase full of cash that was being carried out of a Brussels Sofitel by Kaili’s father, along with boxes and bags stuffed full of notes found inside her flat and Panzeri’s home.
Kaili has denied any involvement in bribery, while Qatar has denied that it is the Gulf State involved in the scheme
Police also photographed lock-boxes filled with stacks of notes they say were seized from the homes of two Brussels political figures, and a hotel
Belgian cops say the group were given the money by ‘Gulf State’ officials – widely thought to be Qatari – as part of a scheme to buy influence in the EU parliament.
Kaili has denied any involvement in bribery, while Qatar has denied that it is the Gulf State involved in the scheme.
Kaili’s father is reported to have been carrying the briefcase with £650,000 in notes, before being stopped by investigators coming out of a Sofitel in the Belgian capital.
It was that ‘red handed’ moment which allowed cops to waive Ms Kaili’s usual right to diplomatic immunity and search her home where they reportedly found ‘valuables’ and more ‘bags of banknotes’, Belgian newspaper Le Soir said.
Kaili is accused of taking money from Qatar in return for trying to influence debates in the European parliament in their favour (pictured meeting the Qatari labour minister in October)
Ms Kaili, who only became an EU vice president in January having been involved in politics since age 14, has denied being involved in bribery
The £500,000 was said to have been found inside the home of Pier Antonio Panzeri, another of the four arrested and charged at the weekend.
He is an Italian ex-MEP who now runs a think-tank championing human rights which was associated with a number of high-ranking EU officials.
The fourth arrest is reported to be Niccolò Figa-Talamanca, who runs a lobbying group called No Peace Without Justice.
Ms Kaili, speaking through her lawyer, has denied guilt and said she ‘has nothing to do with bribery from Qatar.’
Qatar – which has not been publicly named as the state involved but has been accused in Belgian media – has denied involvement.
‘The State of Qatar categorically rejects any attempts to associate it with accusations of misconduct,’ the Qatari mission to the EU said.
Two more people were arrested and questioned but not charged, thought to be Mr Panzeri’s wife and daughter.
Kaili’s lawyers have told AFP she is innocent and will fight the charges.
Earlier, Kaili’s lawyer in Athens, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, insisted she was innocent and ‘did not know of the existence’ of the cash found at her Brussels home.
Dimitrakopoulos suggested Kaili’s Italian boyfriend, Giorgi, might have ‘answers about the existence of this cash’.
Qatar is a key energy supplier to Europe, and plays an important intermediary role in several diplomatic disputes.
But it has also been criticised for the alleged mistreatment of migrant workers, most notoriously those who built the World Cup stadiums.
As Kaili remained in jail, her colleagues in the Strasbourg parliament scrambled to distance themselves from the scandal, stripping her of her vice presidential role and promising a wave of transparency reforms.
Speaking for the first time on the case, Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said it was ‘undermining… democracy at a time when populism prevails.’
‘I hope this affair will be resolved quickly,’ he said, adding that ‘it undermines the prestige of Europe.’
She is the only serving MEP to have been charged. But several more have had their offices put under police seal.
A Belgian judicial source said 600,000 euros were found at Panzeri’s home, 150,000 euros in Kaili’s flat and 750,000 in her father’s hotel room.
Brussels has been rocked by the claims and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has sought to portray the alleged bribes as an assault on democracy.
Kaili was one of six people detained. Four have been charged with ‘criminal organisation, corruption and money laundering’ and two released.
Among those released was Luca Visentini, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, a global labour body that has pushed Qatar on labour rights.
