Four people accused of criminal organization, money laundering and corruption by the Belgian authorities will attend a pretrial hearing on Wednesday.
Among the accused is Eva Kaili, a Greek MEP and Vice President of the European Parliament.
On Tuesday, the Parliament voted to end her term in office, stripping her of her position in an overwhelming majority of 625 MEPs in favor, only one against.
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Belgian authorities conducted twenty raids and arrested six people in the last few days, eventually charging four and releasing two as part of a four month investigation into corruption linked to Qatar.
Investigators seized bags of cash in multiple properties across Brussels including €150,000 ($159,000) at a property linked to Kaili. In total, Belgian authorities say they have seized €1.5 million ($1.59m) linked to Eva Kaili and former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, the president of Fighting Impunity, an NGO which appears to be a central part of the corruption allegations.
European Parliament Vice President, Greek socialist Eva Kaili, is seen at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. /European Union 2022/Reuters
Kaili's lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, said his client "has nothing to do with financing from Qatar, nothing, explicitly and unequivocally,"
Qatar has also denied any wrongdoing.
'Malign actors'
Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, was scathing in her reaction to the allegations.
"These malign actors linked to autocratic third countries have allegedly weaponized NGOs, unions, individuals, assistants and Members of the European Parliament in an effort to subdue our processes. Their malicious plans failed," said Metola.
"I know also that we are not at the end of the road and we will continue to assist in investigations, together with other EU institutions, for as long as it takes. Corruption cannot pay and we have played our part in ensuring these plans could not materialize."
Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, Qatar's minister of labor, with Greece's Eva Kaili, Vice President of the European Parliament, during a meeting in Qatar, on October 31, 2022 in this social media handout image. /Ministry of Labour - State of Qatar/Reuters
"To those malign actors in third countries who think they can buy their way forward, who think Europe is for sale, who think they can take over our NGOs, let me say: 'You will find this parliament firmly in your way,'" she added.
Kaili, who is currently being held in a prison just outside of Brussels, will be joined by three other accused at the pretrial hearing in Belgium's federal court and will be heard by a judge behind closed doors.
While the judicial process is only getting started, and likely to last for weeks to come, the political and reputational impacts of this story will likely haunt Brussels for months if not years.