Brought down by a bag of cash: The politician fighting to clear her name
A year ago, Eva Kaili was one of the rising stars of European politics.
Then, her career collapsed spectacularly after police found large sums of money in her flat.
The Greek politician was arrested and charged with being part of an international corruption conspiracy in which her partner is also implicated.
Kaili, who denies all charges, was held in prison for four months with limited access to her young daughter.
Her career, it seemed, was over.
But now, there is a chance the case against her might collapse. She hasn’t been formally charged and has returned to work as an MEP, albeit as an independent. She has also launched a legal challenge to clear her name.
“According to my Belgian lawyers, I was used as a trophy,” she says.
As one of the European Parliament’s small group of vice presidents, her remit included technology, artificial intelligence and business foresight. But she was brought down by that most old-fashioned of things – a bag of cash.
The morning her life started unravelling is etched into her memory.
A text from a friend said something had happened to her partner, Francesco Giorgi, and the police were involved.
Kaili panicked, she says, thinking he had been in a car accident. There was no answer from his phone.
Adam Parsons sits down Eva Kaili
‘It was a bag I didn’t recognise’
Then another message arrived – Giorgi had been arrested in an investigation linked to his boss, the former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, who was now a well-paid lobbyist. That was when she went into Giorgi’s office and discovered a suitcase full of cash.
“It’s his private space. I was looking for something to understand why he was arrested,” she says. ” I discovered a bag of money. It was a bag I didn’t recognise. I understood it to be Panzeri’s, so I wanted to return it.”
Kaili claims she called the police and when she couldn’t get through to anyone, decided the best course of action was to get the money out of her flat.
“I didn’t know what it was, and I didn’t want to know what it was.”
Her father Alexandros was visiting and it was decided he would take the money to his hotel which was a short walk from the parliament. The plan, she says, was for Panzeri to pick it up from there. Instead, her father was detained at the hotel and Kaili was arrested.
Kaili claims wiretaps prove money wasn’t hers
The charges against her centred on an alleged cash-for-access scheme in which foreign nations, notably Qatar and Morocco, paid to gain influence at the European Parliament. The interests they sought to advance included softening EU criticism of Qatar’s record on human rights ahead of the 2022 World Cup, and winning support for the country’s aspiration for a visa-free travel deal with Europe. This led to the scandal being nicknamed Qatargate.
Kaili maintains her innocence. She says she had no prior knowledge of the money, that she guessed it was Panzeri’s because of his link to her partner, and simply wanted to get it back to him. After her arrest, the European media went into a frenzy over the case – portraying Kaili as the prosecutor’s big prize in their bid to bust a corruption ring which brought in millions of euros.
In person, Kaili, a former Greek TV presenter, flits between being confident and nervous. She is clearly consumed with the quest to get the case against her dropped. She follows coverage of her case intimately, knows the allegations and has files of documents.
“Was any of the money in that bag your money?” I asked her.
“No. Just Panzeri’s. There are wiretaps that prove this.”
This, she says, is evidence from the secret service seen by her legal team which we cannot verify.
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‘They want to bury the case’
In prison, she claims she was intimidated and warned that, if she didn’t make a confession, her toddler would be taken away from her.
“They threatened to give my daughter to the social services. I couldn’t see her for a month. She was 20 months old. She had been constantly with me and suddenly she wasn’t.
“I was shocked these things could happen in Europe.”
The Belgian federal prosecutor told Sky News there was “no evidence of such a practice” and that such behaviour would be “unacceptable in a state governed by the rule of law”.
Her defence hinges on her claims that her right to parliamentary immunity was ignored, that she was spied on and that the prosecutor knows she is innocent but is prolonging the pain to avoid embarrassment.
“They want to bury the case until after the European elections and after the Belgian elections,” she says, both of which are due to be held in June 2024.
In a statement, the federal prosecutor denied that claim, saying the timescale was decided by the magistrate. They also said that efforts made by Kaili’s team to review the investigation could “extend the duration of the proceedings until a date that is likely to be after the election”.
Eva Kaili was a rising star of European politics
Sven Mary, one of her lawyers, told me, with a sliver of knowing hyperbole, that he would compare this to a Belgian form of Watergate. “It’s about the intrusion of the institution,” he said. “We could not believe these things can still happen in 2022 or 2023.
“Clearly something [criminal] happened but the secret services made a file in which a lot of names were mentioned, but not Eva Kaili. And then several months later, her name suddenly appears.”
Nobody questions that at the heart of this something stinks. Panzeri confessed almost immediately – and in January, signed a deal in which he agreed to give evidence in return for a reduced sentence. He then named Kaili’s partner, Giorgi, as a trusted assistant, and later named Kaili herself.
Pier Panzeri. Pic:EPA/Sutterstock
‘Her career is over’
Few people want to talk about the case publicly. Juri Laas, a spokesperson for the European Parliament, is careful with his words.
“The European Parliament has done everything in its power to assist in investigations,” he said.
I spoke to one well-placed official who doesn’t want to go on the record, but knows the case well. “I don’t know if she’s guilty or not, but from a political perspective it may not matter – her career is over.”
The prosecutor was keen to avoid any further speculation.
“The whole case will be heard in open court when it is presented to the trial judge, who will assess the arguments of the parties on the basis of the evidence gathered,” they said.
This is a complex, often bewildering story that began with a bang – politicians arrested, money seized, shockwaves running through the Brussels establishment. Now, it has faded into the political background and it is unclear if any formal charges will be brought against her, or if a trial will ever happen.
Innocent or guilty, for now Eva Kaili will continue to live in limbo.
World
CCTV footage reveals shocking moment 80-year-old is shot in IDF raid as UN expert says it could be ‘war crime’
On 19 December, 80-year-old Palestinian grandmother Halima Abu Leil was shot in an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) raid on her neighbourhood in Balata refugee camp in Nablus, West Bank.
Two days later, Halima’s children told Sky News their mother was shot six times by Israeli special forces on her way to buy groceries. She died soon after.
Warning this piece includes an image from CCTV of the moment Halima Abu Leil was shot.
“They could see she is an elderly lady but they shot her six times – in her leg, in her chest. When she was first shot in her legs, she knelt on the ground,” her daughter said.
Halima’s daughter
Newly released grainy CCTV footage shows the moment she was shot and reveals that a van marked as an ambulance was used during the surprise IDF raid.
Halima Abu Leil’s family want the footage to be seen.
Sky News’ Data & Forensics unit has analysed the CCTV and geolocated the street where the video was filmed. It is the exact location Halima’s son told us she “fell to her knees” as she was shot.
READ MORE: Grandmother shot six times by IDF during raid, son says
In the video, we see Halima turn into the street.
Three men are also walking down the street. There is no visible contact between them and Halima. Based on our analysis of their silhouettes, the figure in the middle appears to be holding a weapon. They are likely to be neighbourhood militants.
The three men veer to the right, moving into a sunny area. One takes a seat on some stairs, while the other two stand. They join someone sitting there already.
A few yards away, Halima stops in the middle of the street to speak to another woman with a shopping trolley.
An ambulance pulls into vision, separating the two women, and drives slowly down the street. A white van pulls in behind the medical vehicle.
A few moments later, the passenger door of the white van opens and a faint cloud of smoke is visible, suggesting that a gunshot is fired.
This is the moment Halima falls to her knees.
The men, some of them armed, scatter to the right and left into alleyways along with other people in the street.
A detailed analysis of the footage suggests that visible clouds of smoke on the walls are the result of multiple shots. The footage and imagery we gathered from the site of the killing shows bullet holes in the building next to where Halima was standing.
The exact location Halima Abu Leil was shot in Balata Refugee Camp
The woman she was speaking to moments earlier takes cover in a doorway.
At the same time, figures who appear to be Israeli military forces exit the ambulance in the foreground. They are equipped with helmets, backpacks, rifles, and other gear.
Armed figures can also be seen leaving the white van in the background. They are seen aiming their weapons down the street.
Halima appears to get hit again and collapses to the floor. The men likely to be neighbourhood militants are not visibly present in the street when this happens.
At the time of our previous report, the IDF said they had conducted “counterterrorism activity” in Balata camp the morning Halima was killed.
We approached the IDF about the CCTV footage and the use of a medical vehicle to conduct their operation.
This was its response: “The IDF is committed to and operates in accordance with international law. The mentioned incident is under review. The review will examine the use of the vehicle shown in the video and the claims of harm to uninvolved individuals during the exchange of fire between the terrorists and our forces.”
The use of a marked medical vehicle for a security operation could be a contravention of the Geneva Convention and a war crime – as well as Halima’s killing.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese watched the CCTV video and told Sky News she was shocked but not surprised.
She says: “When I look at the footage, what emerges prima facie is that there were no precautions taken – within these operations whose legality is debatable – to avoid or spare civilian life. No principle of proportionality because there was wildfire directed at the identified target and ultimately no respect for the principle of distinction.
“So this was a murder in cold blood and could be a war crime as an extrajudicial killing.”
According to the United Nations Office of Human Rights in occupied Palestinian territory (OHCHR oPt), Israeli security forces and settlers have killed at least 813 mostly unarmed Palestinians, including 15 women and 177 children, since 7 October 2023.
In a statement to Sky News regarding Halima’s killing, the OHCHR oPT said: “Any deliberate killing by Israeli security forces of Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank who do not pose an imminent threat to life is unlawful under international human rights law and a war crime in the context of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territory.
“This incident must be investigated independently, effectively, thoroughly, and transparently. If there is evidence of violations of the applicable law enforcement standards, those responsible must be held to account.”
Sophie Alexander, international affairs producer, and Michelle Inez Simon, visual investigations producer, contributed reporting.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy has met Israel’s prime minister in an effort to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza before the president-elect takes office on 20 January.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed details of the meeting with Steve Witkoff on Saturday, adding that the head of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency has been deployed to Qatar in order to “advance” talks.
It was not immediately clear when David Barnea would travel to Doha for the latest round of indirect discussions between Israel and Hamas.
Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli official said some progress had been made, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, to reach a deal in Gaza.
Ronen Bar (left), director of Israel’s security agency, and David Barnea (right), head of Mossad, at a ceremony marking the 7 October Hamas attack. File pic: Reuters
The mediators are making renewed efforts to halt fighting in Gaza and free the remaining Israeli hostages held there before Mr Trump takes office.
A deal would also involve the release of some Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Families of Israeli hostages welcomed Mr Netanyahu’s decision to dispatch the officials, with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters describing it as a “historic opportunity”.
Mr Witkoff arrived in Doha on Friday and met the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s foreign ministry said.
Egyptian and Qatari mediators received reassurances from Mr Witkoff that the US would continue to work towards a fair deal to end the war soon, Egyptian security sources said, though no further details were released.
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Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Families of the roughly 100 hostages still held in Gaza are pressing Mr Netanyahu to reach a deal to bring their loved ones home.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the area destroyed and gripped by a humanitarian crisis, with most of its population displaced.
Pope Francis has been honoured with America’s highest civilian award by President Joe Biden, who has described the pontiff as “a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world”.
It is the first time Mr Biden, 82, has given the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction during his four years in office.
In a statement, the White House said the award is “presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavours”.
Mr Biden had been scheduled to present the medal to Pope Francis, 88, in person on Saturday in Rome on what was to be the final overseas trip of his presidency. But the president cancelled his visit to monitor the California wildfires.
The White House said Mr Biden bestowed the award during a phone call in which they also discussed efforts to promote peace and alleviate suffering around the world.
President Joe Biden presented Bono with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Pic: AP
Denzel Washington was also recognised. Pic: AP
Michael J Fox was bestowed with the honour. Pic: AP
The award can be presented with or without distinction.
Mr Biden presented the medal of freedom – without distinction – on 5 January to several people including fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, humanitarian and U2 singer Bono, fashion designer Ralph Lauren and actors Michael J Fox and Denzel Washington.
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Mr Biden himself is a recipient of the award with distinction, recognised when he was vice president by then president Barack Obama in a surprise ceremony eight years ago.
Barack Obama presented Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction in 2017. File pic: AP
The citation for the pope’s honour said his “mission of serving the poor has never ceased”.
“A loving pastor, he joyfully answers children’s questions about God. A challenging teacher, he commands us to fight for peace and protect the planet. A welcoming leader, he reaches out to different faiths,” it added.
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