Kaili’s arrest is linked to a corruption investigation involving Qatar, which was preceded by the arrests of four people, including a former MEP, as part of the investigation on Friday.
Kaili is the partner of one of the four people previously arrested.
Police conducted 16 raids in the Belgian capital, seizing €600,000 in cash, as well as electronic equipment and mobile phones.
The Greek Socialist Party “Pasok” expelled Kaili from its ranks after his arrest, and his membership in the EP Socialists and Democrats group was also suspended.
As announced by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Belgian police arrested four people on Friday, including a former MEP, during an investigation into possible corruption in the European Parliament committed by a “Gulf country”.
The prosecution did not name a specific country, but Belgian newspaper “Le Soir” reported that Qatari officials tried to bribe the Italian socialist, who was a European deputy from 2004 to 2019.
For several months, the investigators “suspected that the Gulf State influenced the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament by transferring large sums of money or by giving large gifts to third parties who have an important and/or strategic position in the European Parliament”, said the prosecutor’s office .
“Among the detainees there is a former member of the European Parliament,” said the prosecution, without providing further details on the identity of those arrested.
An investigation into corruption and money laundering is underway.
