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Eva Kaili, the Greek MEP embroiled in a corruption scandal allegedly linked to World Cup host Qatar, “did not know of the existence” of the cash found at her home, her lawyer told AFP Tuesday.
Her lawyer said she was “innocent”, and he denied “false rumours” that she had received bribes from Qatar.
The MEP, who was sacked by the European Parliament as vice president, has “no relation to the money found at her home”, said lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos after she was arrested following a series of police raids in and near Brussels.
He said her partner, Francesco Giorgi, could have “answers about the existence of this cash.”
The 44-year-old Kaili was one of six people arrested after the raids, and the only serving MEP to have been charged.
A Belgian judicial source said that banknotes worth 150,000 euros were discovered in her Brussels apartment.
The European Parliament assembly’s MEPs voted 625 to one to strip Kaili of her vice presidential role on Tuesday.
And on Wednesday, a Belgian judge will decide whether to maintain Kaili and three co-accused in custody pending trial.
The government of Qatar has denied any connection to any wrongdoing in the case.