EU corruption scandal: Panama is after Kylie’s money

Kylie has been in remand in Belgium since December 9, and it was recently extended. Three other suspects remain in custody at the moment: former Italian deputy Pier Antonio Panzieri, Italian general secretary of No Peace Without Justice, Niccolò Vega Talamanca, and Cayley’s partner Francesco Giorgi. Kylie’s lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, blames Giorgi, despite recent media reports of a partial confession from the former deputy.

Now Greek authorities are tracking potential cash flows from Qatar that are said to have gone to Kylie’s circle. The group is accused of stirring up anti-Money sentiments for Qatar in the European Parliament. Bags full of money were found in Kylie’s apartment in Brussels, as well as on Kylie’s father in a hotel in Brussels.

Investigators found another 600,000 euros in Panziri. As a result, Kylie, who is also accused of fraud with EU budget funds, loses her position in the European Union and her membership in the Greek PASOK party and the Social Democratic group in the European Parliament.

20 million suspects in the accounts of Panama

The head of Greece’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority, Charalambos Vorliotis, has submitted an urgent request to the authorities in Panama, according to online publication Politico. They were supposed to find out if the money from the principality was going to Kylie herself or to suspected associates via the tax haven. The total amount is around 20 million euros, according to Politico. Shortly after Cayley’s arrest, Greek funding froze all of Cayley’s family assets. Also confiscated is a large parcel of land on Paros Island that Kylie and Georgie purchased and the account used to purchase it. The suspicion is “taking bribes and money laundering”.

The request was sent as a result of tips on social networks. There have been posts picked up by several media outlets that appear to show bank documents from Panama related to Kylie. According to these photos, Kylie, her father Alexandros Kylis, and her mother, Maria Ignatiado, are said to have accounts at the Qatar-funded Bladex Bank in Panama. Greece now wants copies of transactions, safety deposit boxes and possible evidence of real estate transactions from Panama.

According to Kylie’s lawyer, the documents are forged. He called on the Greek authorities to investigate “to uncover the falsification of documents related to the legendary transfers from Qatar to Eva Kylie.” The island property was also obtained legally, from Kylie’s income, according to the defense attorney.

targeting Morocco

Not only Qatar and Panama are now part of the investigation. Belgian authorities continue to investigate indications that Morocco is playing a leading role in the corruption scandal. SPIEGEL recently reported that Morocco’s foreign intelligence service is said to have been involved at the highest level in influencing members of the European Parliament. The magazine referred to the investigative documents.

As a result, the Directorate General for Economic Development recruited Panzeri, Giorgi and MEP Andrea Cozzolino in 2019. The aim was to influence the Social Democratic group in the European Parliament.

According to the report, the current Moroccan ambassador to Poland, Abd al-Rahim Atmoun, was responsible for guiding the three men. According to Spiegel, he is said to have given the suspects envelopes full of cash. The three Italians also had direct contacts with the Director General of Intelligence, Muhammad Yassin al-Mansouri. As a result, Morocco is said to have recently become embroiled in issues such as fishing rights and Western Sahara, which Rabat largely controls.

Panziri in the middle

Panziri is considered to be the mastermind of the scandal, and his NGO is said to have been a hub for payments from third countries to EU decision makers. For many years, Panziri was a member of the Social Democratic Party (PD), which is currently the main opposition party in Italy. In 2017 he joined the party of former Italian communist leader and former Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema, Articolo 1, but remained in the European Parliament in the Social Democrats group.

The Brussels prosecutor is certain that Panziri pulled the strings when it came to influencing the political and economic decisions of the European Union Parliament in favor of countries like Qatar and Morocco. Panziri also had official relations with the Maghreb country when he was a member of the European Parliament, heading the delegation for relations with Morocco.