The police detained five people, including former and current members of the body, in a case centered on possible attempts to influence the Parliament’s economic and political decisions.
BRUSSELS — The authorities in Belgium have started a sweeping operation to detain and question five people including former and current members and employees of the European Parliament as part of an inquiry into suspected bribes by Qatar, officials in Brussels say.
The police operation, which began on Friday and was still underway on Saturday, is focused on what could be the biggest scandal in the history of the European Parliament. Among those taken in for questioning, according to a Belgian official involved with the investigation, was Eva Kaili of Greece, one of the Parliament’s vice presidents.
“For several months, investigators of the Federal Judicial Police have suspected a Gulf country to influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament,” the Belgian prosecutor’s office said in its news release. “This is done so by paying large sums of money or offering large gifts to third parties with a significant political and/or strategic position within the European Parliament.”
The Belgian police said in a detailed statement on Friday that their raids in 16 locations — including private residences across the capital, Brussels — had yielded a suitcase with 600,000 euros in cash ($633,000). They also said they had seized computers and cellphones.
Although the police did not name the country linked to the inquiry in their news release, the Belgian official directly involved with the investigation and a European lawmaker who requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the news media, said that it was Qatar. The Belgian official spoke on the condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to divulge further details publicly.
He said that the inquiry had been underway for at least four months, and that the possible crimes occurred during that period and potentially earlier.
The investigation comes as Qatar is hosting the men’s soccer World Cup amid heightened scrutiny.
The scandal is likely to embarrass the Qatari government, which has faced criticism over the exploitation of migrant workers who helped build the tournament’s infrastructure. In addition, the authoritarian country’s criminalization of homosexuality has become a flash point between some Western teams and fans and FIFA, the governing body for global soccer. And corruption was also already a focus.
A Qatari government official said on Saturday that the government was not aware of any details of a European investigation. The official said that any claims of misconduct by Qatar were gravely misinformed, and that the state operated in full compliance with international laws and regulations.
The Belgian prosecutors questioning the five detainees have 48 hours, until Sunday afternoon, to charge them.