Greece freezes all assets of EU Parliament vice president over corruption charges

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - Greek authorities on Monday froze assets of European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili following her arrest on corruption charges allegedly linked to Qatar, local media reported.

Eva Kaili, one of the 14 vice presidents of the European legislative body from Greece's central-left PASOK-KINAL party, was held on Friday by Belgium police after her house was searched, according to Belgium daily Le Soir.

According to the Greek Public Broadcaster ERT, the authorities also suspended the "bank accounts, safes, companies and other financial assets" of her relatives.

In addition, the bank accounts of a real estate company in Kolonaki, which was founded by Kaili and her husband, are being frozen, the ERT said.

- Qatar rejects allegations

Qatar has dismissed "baseless and gravely misinformed" allegations of misconduct that has shaken the European parliament.

"Qatar categorically rejects any attempts to associate it with accusations of misconduct. Any association of the Qatari government with the reported claims is baseless and gravely misinformed," Doha’s mission to the EU said in a statement on Sunday.

It added that the Gulf state "works through institution-to-institution engagement and operates in full compliance with international laws and regulations."

The statement comes amid developing reports over an alleged corruption case in the European parliament involving bribes to attempt to influence its opinion.

On Friday, her father was also detained after finding him in possession of a large amount of cash in a suitcase, local reports showed.

Those detained alongside Kaili also included Luca Visentini, secretary general of the International Trade Union Confederation, as well as Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former S&D MEP from Italy who chaired the parliament’s human rights subcommittee.