Belgium

The European Union corruption scandal linked to Qatar has been grabbing the limelight for days now. On Tuesday, Belgium's federal prosecutor released pictures of cash found during a series of police raids at various locations. The places that were raided included parliament offices and 19 homes.

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The police posted a picture of the 1.5 million euros in cash recovered in raids from Friday to Monday. It includes a suitcase overflowing with 50 and 100 euro banknotes and two briefcases neatly stacked with 50 euro notes. They found 20,000 euros in cash at a house belonging to one suspect. They also searched an office in Milan.

The officers have been conducting searches on the suspicion that EU officials accepted bribes from World Cup host Qatar.

Also Read | European Parliament removes Eva Kaili as vice-president after Qatar corruption allegations

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Belgian prosecutors have charged Eva Kaili, a Greek member, and three others for accepting bribes from Qatar in order to influence EU policymaking. Both Qatar and Kaili have denied any wrongdoing.

Kaili is currently in police detention and will remain in custody until a December 22 hearing, prosecutors said on Wednesday. She was one of 14 vice presidents in the parliament. Kaili and three other suspects were due to appear before judges on Wednesday, but the date was moved forward after her lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos informed she had asked for more time to prepare her detention hearing.

"We have been in coordination with her lawyer in Brussels and agreed to request a postponement for a few days to prepare," Dimitrakopoulos said.

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Kaili's partner Francesco Giorgi, who is a parliamentary assistant, will stay in detention, along with Pier Antonio Panzeri, an ex-MEP and founder of a non-profit campaign group, the prosecutor's office said. 

Meanwhile, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, the secretary-general of a rule of law campaign group, will be allowed to leave jail but needs to wear an electronic ankle tag. They can appeal against the decisions.

"We've been too naïve ... for far too long," a justice ministry spokesperson said, referring to what he called clandestine operations by foreign powers in Belgium.

"We now arm ourselves better against this."

He called the investigation "a major case on which State Security has been working for more than a year, in collaboration with foreign intelligence services, to list suspicions of corruption of MEPs by different countries".

(With inputs from agencies)

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