With eyes fixed on January 22, when it will be reviewed whether she will remain in custody or not, Eva Kaili and her legal team continue to work, while the Italian and Belgian press reveal – almost daily – new facts. Of particular interest is that the bribery network between Qatar and Antonio Panzeri’s team was set up and operating as early as 2018.
The lawyer of Ev. Kaili, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, repeated in his statements that his client is innocent and that in the next cell is a mother who has been convicted, as she let her three children be burned. “You understand how he feels,” said M. Dimitrakopoulos.
The lawyer of Ev. Kaili once again referred to the “blatant argument”, as he said, of the Belgian investigator that there is a risk of kidnapping the MEP by Qatari people, stressing that he did not suggest that she cooperate with the Belgian authorities. “When she tells me unequivocally that she is innocent, then I would be miserable if I suggested that she plead guilty to get out of jail quickly.”
The European press treats these statements with skepticism. With the title “On greed and betrayed love” and the subtitle “Eva Kaili in the role of the innocent victim: How Qatargate harms Brussels”, the German newspaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung” published a few days ago an extensive article on the case. “Eva Kaili’s lawyers are using the courthouse stairs as a stage to give a new twist to the corruption case: a young woman and mother as a persecuted innocent of the European Union,” wrote the German newspaper. And he continued: “According to her lawyers, the judges based their decision on the fact that the Qatari secret services could kidnap Eva Kaili. In reality, however, Belgian justice sees the risk of obfuscation. The situation in this scandal, which is causing serious damage to the European Union, is very confused.” It should be noted that the Italian “La Repubblica” wrote a few days ago that E. Kylie tried to suppress evidence after the arrest of Francesco Giorgi. “After my partner was arrested, I went into his office. I searched his things to understand why he was arrested,” he said. Kaylee found the suitcase, as well as a computer and a phone. “So I called my father, who was with the baby. I asked him to come and get the suitcase… It was a suitcase for Pancheri, which my husband kept at home… I knew that my father would go to my daughter, because I had put a baby bottle in the suitcase he had taken”, says “La Repubblica”.
According to the Italian newspaper, “in the first report given to the investigators, the Greek MEP and former vice-president of the European Parliament, who ended up in prison on charges of corruption and money laundering in the Qatargate investigation, had to explain a lot to the two judges of Brussels who interrogated her: Whose money was it, why was it found in her house, why did she ask her father to hide it when he learned of the arrest of Francesco Giorgi.
Christmas in Prison
Ev. Kaili spent Christmas alone in her cell, in the state-of-the-art Haren prison, located in a suburb of Brussels. According to information, Ev. Kaili is in a bad psychological state. After all, since December 9, when she was remanded in custody, she has not seen her 22-month-old child. At least for another 20 days she is not expected to see it up close and hold it in her arms.
The MEP’s lawyers, M. Dimitrakopoulos and Andre Rizopoulos, have submitted the necessary requests and completed all the prescribed procedures to allow her to see her child in person, however the investigating authorities still do not allow it. In Haren prisons, however, mothers can see their children, and there is also a playground for them to play with. It should be noted that Ev. Kaili has only received two visits from her father, who has taken over the care of her child, the second before Christmas.
The Panzeri Network
However, Panzeri’s corruption network has a history. According to the Belgian newspaper “Le Soir”, “it all started in 2018. Mr. Pancheri was then the president of the Human Rights Committee of the European Parliament. The former chairman of Qatar’s National Human Rights Commission, Ali Ben Shamik Al Marri, now Minister of Labor, then developed the idea of lobbying. Mr Pantcheri agreed to work for the Qataris. Somehow, according to the version presented to the investigators by Fr. Georgie, former assistant to Ant. Pancheri, it all started in the corruption case that has been rocking the European Parliament for almost three weeks.”
“At the beginning of 2019, the collaboration started. We had fixed the fees, which I have trouble remembering, for our interventions. It was in cash,” Fr. Georgie. According to Le Soir, Giorgi said that “Eva obviously knew the amounts of money and the source, since we live together, but she is not part of the network” and that she had asked him several times to stop “because he was putting her in danger in relation to her duties”. Giorgi was also reportedly mentioned in Morocco and Mauritania. “In Mauritania they had a problem with their image and that’s why they hired Pancheri. I rented an apartment to the Mauritanian ambassador and Pancheri received 25,000 euros in cash.” “I’m at the stage where I don’t recognize anyone anymore, not even my own partner,” Ev is reported to have said. Kaili, according to “Le Soir”.
Meanwhile, a few days ago, “La Repubblica” revealed photos from a meeting, on October 10, of Ant. Pancheri and Fr. Giorgi with the Minister of Labor of Qatar in a large hotel in Brussels. According to the newspaper, Pancheri arrives at the hotel with an apparently empty briefcase that, according to prosecutors, appears to be full when he leaves the hotel. The Belgian judiciary, a few days ago, decided to extend the pre-trial detention of Pancheri and Nikolo-Figa Talamanka, who is considered by the Belgian authorities as a key person in the investigations, and their case will be re-examined on January 17.
Accounts in Panama
The possible transfer of money from Qatar to a Panamanian bank to accounts opened by Eva Caili or her husband Francesco Giorgi will be investigated by the Anti-Money Laundering Authority. The head of the Authority, Charalambos Vourliotis, sent a relevant request to Panama, following the information that has been circulated on the internet, since the very first days when Qatargate broke out. According to this information, Kaili and Giorgi maintain bank accounts in the Central American country, where remittances amounting to 20 million euros have been transferred. It is noted that the document sent by the Anti-Money Laundering Authority bypasses the formal requests for judicial assistance, as it is characterized as “urgent”. At the same time, it is noted that the information about the existence of accounts with dizzying amounts in Panama has been denied with public statements by the Greek lawyer of Eu. Kaili, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos.
This article is originally published on maleviziotis.gr.