€1 million in cash and counting… How much did it take to buy Brussels?

More sums of cash in suitcases, MEPs ‘standing aside’, but it’s all Qatar’s fault says EP President

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2022

The stench of corruption is pervading the corridors of the EU’s Parliament

Belgian police yesterday raided more homes of EU parliamentarians, assistants, and lobbyists, as well as seizing computers and taping off offices, as yet more bags of cash were discovered in the corruption scandal engulfing the EU Parliament. The tally now exceeds €1 million – and that’s only what the police have found so far.

Yesterday the questions even spread to the mighty EU Commission, regarding the conduct of EU Commissioner Schinas in praising Qatar’s human rights record.

As we first reported in the early hours of Sunday morning, we expect more arrests in the coming days and weeks, with many more in and around the EU Parliament implicated.

From ‘EU Poster Girl’ to ‘Jailbird’

EU Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili has now swapped her luxury Brussels apartment for a jail cell in a Brussels prison.

From this

To this

We understand Ms Kaili is currently being held in the 'Prison de Saint-Gilles' in Brussels. This jail was constructed in 1884. We must stress that she has not been convicted of any crime and is not due in court until tomorrow.

How much does it take to buy Brussels?

The sums are mounting up, even though they would be considered small change by many Arab governments.

The cash haul to date is growing: €600,000 seized from a private home, plus “several hundred thousand euros” in a suitcase discovered in a Brussels hotel room, plus €150,000 at Kaili’s apartment. Yesterday the EU Vice-President family’s assets in Greece were frozen by Greek authorities, affecting all her immediate family members.

Many others in the EU Parliament – MEPs, assistants and lobbyists – have been caught up in the ongoing investigations.

Questions now surround an EU Commission Vice-President

The EU Commission “Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life”, Margaritas Schinas - whom we remember from his previous role as the anti-British spokesman of the EU Commission - was the subject of aggressive questioning yesterday by the (pro-EU) press corps in Brussels.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declined to answer questions about him, to the fury of the baying journalists. Instead a statement was made that:-

“As vice president responsible for sport, European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas was invited to the World Cup 2022 opening game together with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres and IOC President Thomas Bach who were also present.”
- EU Commission statement, Mon 12 Dec 2022

Mr Schinas’s subsequent tweets have raised eyebrows when he was effusive about Qatar’s labour reforms. As part of our in-depth research on Sunday night Facts4EU.Org uncovered the following photo of EU Commission Vice-President Schinas in Qatar, obtained from the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

This photo was taken on 20 November 2022.

To be clear, no specific allegations or charges have been brought against Mr Schinas and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stands fully behind him.

“It’s all the fault of autocratic third countries,” says EU Parliament President

At a special session of the EU Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday, its President Roberta Metsola sought to put the blame for this scandal on “autocratic third countries”.

Here she is yesterday:-

“Make no mistake. The European Parliament, dear colleagues, is under attack. European democracy is under attack. And our way of open, free, democratic societies are under attack.
“The enemies of democracy for whom the very existence of this Parliament is a threat, will stop at nothing. These malign actors, linked to autocratic third countries have allegedly weaponised NGOs, Unions, individuals, assistants and Members of the European Parliament in an effort to subdue our processes.
“Their malicious plans failed. Our services, of whom I am incredibly proud, have been working with relevant national law enforcement and judicial authorities to break up this alleged criminal network for some time.

“We have acted in sync with authorities to ensure that all legal steps are respected, that all information is preserved and that, where needed, IT equipment is secured, offices are sealed and house searches are able to be carried out. I accompanied a Belgian judge and police as required by the Belgian constitution to a house search last weekend.
“As a precautionary measure, again with full respect for the presumption of innocence, I have stripped the Vice-President mentioned of any tasks and responsibilities related to their role as Vice-President and I have convened an extraordinary meeting of the Conference of Presidents to launch an Article 21 procedure to bring their term as Vice-President to an end in an effort to protect the integrity of this House.
“I was also scheduled today to announce the opening of the negotiating mandate for the visa-waiver report with Qatar and Kuwait. In light of the investigations, this report must be sent back to committee.”
- Roberta Metsola, EU Parliament, Strasbourg, Mon 12 Dec 2022

Observations

There is no doubt that the Qatari government engaged in a very effective PR campaign to improve Qatar’s image ahead of the FIFA World Cup. Indeed their efforts were worthy of the EU Commission’s propaganda at its best.

Investigations are continuing on a daily basis now, involving the Belgian, Greek and Italian authorities. We think it inevitable that further charges will follow, even if some of those involved have now had ample time to hide or dispose of any evidence.

One thing is now certain, however. The only institution in the EU with any vague claim to being democratic – the EU Parliament – has now been irrevocably tainted with corruption on a major scale.

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[ Sources: EU Parliament | EU Commission | Qatar Foreign Ministry ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Tues 13 Dec 2022

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Reader Comments 19

11. jon livesey , Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 16:05:

It's turning out that this is not small stuff. Many MEPs and officials are involved and it has been going on for a long time *without* being investigated until quite recently. This not a triumph of investigation. In fact, the lack of investigation may become a second scandal.

12. Old Albion , Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 16:14:

There was a young man called Buster
Who developed the art of bluster
A crooked EU?
He says it's not true
That was the best he could muster.

13. jon livesey , Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 17:55:

Despite many corruption scandals over the years only *this* year has the EU established a European Public Prosecutor’s Office to pursue corruption.: In its first few months EPPO has accumulated more than 300 cases, encompassed, €4.5 billion, Still think there ha been effective "investigation"? They are only starting to uncover what they previously ignored. I think this is going to be huge.

14. Old Albion , Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 18:57:

The situation should improve once Albania joins...

15. John Hardman , Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 19:22:

Buster needs help
It has metal heath issues.

16. jon livesey , Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 20:41:

They say there is no such thing as just one cockroach, and it's the same with corruption. This scandal is uncovering not just one person taking a bribe, but an organized network of friends, relatives and colleagues handling, concealing and even investing the cash. They even managed to set up an EU "Human Rights" organization as cover and they attended meetings of EU committees of which they were *not* members to promote Qatar's "human rights" record. And apparently no-one in Brussels thought it was odd for a Senior MEP to be lobbying on behalf of Qatar without registering as a lobbyist.
And by the way, exactly how do you invest suitcases of banknotes in the EU? If you tried that in London you would run into all sots of regulations and probably the SFO.

17. jon livesey , Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 20:56:

Quote: "Over many decades, the Parliament has allowed a culture of impunity to develop, with a combination of lax financial rules and controls and a complete lack of independent (or indeed any) ethics oversight. In many ways it has become a law unto itself. Every serious attempt to improve accountability is blocked by the Parliament’s ruling Bureau, with the acquiescence of a majority of MEPs." Transparency International. 12/12/2022.

18. jon livesey , Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 21:05:

Could you make this up? One of those who have had to resign posts is Maria Arena, who was Chair of an EU parliament's subcommittee on human rights, and they were working on, guess what, an anit-Israel human rights motion. Middle East, Qatar, Israel, human rights, bribery, EU.

19. LuxuryBalloon , Friday, December 16, 2022, 23:03:

I would not be surprised if Baroness Bra is also involved.

19 comments, page 2 of 2

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