Greek MEP Eva Kaili says she is innocent and “has nothing to do with bribery from Qatar,” the lawyer representing her in Greece told local TV on Tuesday.
Kaili is at the center of a spiraling investigation into corruption and bribery by World Cup host country Qatar. She was arrested by Belgian police in a series of raids that found €600,000 in a private home, “several hundred thousand euros” in a suitcase nabbed at a Brussels hotel and €150,000 at Kaili’s apartment.
“I have no insight into whether money was found or how much was found,” Kaili’s lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos told local Open TV.
Dimitrakopoulos said Kaili’s father, Alexandros Kaili — who was arrested as part of the Belgian operation but has since been released — said that no restraints were imposed on him by the Belgian authorities and that “he is free if he wants to come to Greece” but “when a father sees his child in such a difficult situation, he stays by [their] side.”
Kaili’s family’s assets in Greece have also been frozen by the Greek anti-money laundering authority, it said Monday. The politician’s lawyer plans to file an appeal tomorrow against that decision.