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Gifts from The Morning Star
A crime story at the heart of the European Parliament
Politicians and trade union leaders have been apprehended for their alleged bribe-taking and influence-peddling on behalf of Qatar — but the corruption around the 2022 World Cup has been clear from the start, explains NICK WRIGHT
Greek MEP Eva Kaili

AN anti-corruption investigation by Belgian police has scooped up a vice-president of the European Parliament, Greek MEP Eva Kaili; her partner Francesco Giorgi who is an adviser in the parliament and a figure in the Fight Impunity NGO; Kaili’s father Alexandros and a former MEP, Pier Antonio Panzeri.

In addition to a stash of €600,000 in cash, mobile phones and computers were also seized.

Since then another figure caught up in the sweep, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, the secretary general of the NGO No Peace Without Justice — which shares prestigious offices with Fight Impunity — has been arrested, questioned, fitted with an electronic tag and released from custody.

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