Belgian Police Search European Parliament for Corruption Case

On Monday afternoon, the Belgian police carried out a search at the headquarters of the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels to seize data for the investigation on the corruption and money laundering case involving EP officials with Qatar.

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The EP security services and the Belgian police froze the computer resources of ten parliamentary collaborators to prevent data from disappearing.

These events coincide with the celebration of a debate in the EP plenary session that will meet in the French city of Strasbourg, where the official headquarters of this institution is located.

On this day, the Belgian police also carried out 19 searches in private residences and offices in search of evidence about the corruption scandal.

During the searches, some 600,000 euros were confiscated at the home of one of the suspects, another thousands of euros in a suitcase in a Brussels hotel room, and some 150,000 euros in the apartment of a MEP.

Four people were arrested and will appear before a Belgian court (the Council Chamber) on Wednesday. Among those detained is a member of the European Parliament.

Authorities also confirmed that the European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili, who is from the Greek socialist formation PASOK, and the former MEP Antonio Panzeri, who directs the NGO Fight Impunity, were arrested in connection with the case.