BRUSSELS: The key suspect at the heart of the corruption scandal that rocked the European Union’s assembly last year no longer has to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said Thursday.
Former parliament vice president Eva Kaili was under electronic surveillance and house arrest since her release from jail last month while the investigation into the money-for-political favors case continued. The office said in a statement that the probe “no longer requires her detention.”
“This release is subject to the usual conditions in such cases,” the statement read. Asked about the new conditions imposed on Kaili and whether she could travel abroad, a spokesperson at the prosecutor’s office said he could not elaborate.
The Greek lawmaker was removed as vice president after she was taken into custody late last year on charges of corruption, money laundering and membership in a criminal organization. She denies wrongdoing, her lawyers said.
Belgian prosecutors suspect that Kaili was among several people who were allegedly paid by Qatar and Morocco to influence decision-making at the assembly. Both countries deny the allegations.
The scandal came to public attention on Dec. 9 after police launched more than 20 raids, mostly in Belgium but also in Italy. Hundreds of thousands of euros were found at a home and in a suitcase at a hotel in Brussels.
Key suspect in EU corruption case can remove electronic bracelet
https://arab.news/nptce
Key suspect in EU corruption case can remove electronic bracelet
- Former parliament vice president Eva Kaili was under electronic surveillance and house arrest since her release from jail last month
- The office said in a statement that the probe “no longer requires her detention”
G.Bissau opposition leader summoned by military court: sources
- Domingos Simoes Pereira, leader of the PAIGC party, which led the coastal west African country to independence from Portugal in 1974, was arrested on the day of the November coup
BISSAU: Guinea-Bissau’s main opposition leader has been summoned to appear before a military court over alleged links to multiple coup plots, judicial and military sources told AFP.
The junta has imprisoned senior politicians after overthrowing president Umaro Sissoco Embalo and seizing power in November, just days after presidential elections.
Domingos Simoes Pereira, leader of the PAIGC party, which led the coastal west African country to independence from Portugal in 1974, was arrested on the day of the November coup.
SPEEDREAD
• Domingos Simoes Pereira is suspected of involvement in at least two attempted coups, in late 2023 and October 2025, a source said.
• Guinea-Bissau has experienced five coups and a string of attempted military takeovers since independence.
• Crippling poverty, chaotic administration and political chaos have also made Guinea-Bissau a fertile ground for corruption.
He was freed late last month but was placed under house arrest because of separate investigations into alleged financial crimes.
He will be questioned on Friday for his “alleged involvement in a coup attempt,” a source close to the military court told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“There are a lot of suspicions hanging over him regarding his alleged involvement in several subversive actions,” a senior officer said.
Pereira is suspected of involvement in at least two attempted coups, in late 2023 and October 2025, the same source added.
Guinea-Bissau has experienced five coups and a string of attempted military takeovers since independence.
Crippling poverty, chaotic administration and political chaos have also made Guinea-Bissau a fertile ground for corruption and drug smuggling.
