Qatar Gate: The possible penalties for those involved in the corruption scandal

Lawyer Nikos Korogiannakis spoke to public broacaster ERT about the penalties for those who, like Eva Kaili, are involved in Qatar Gate. This particular lawyer, in fact, has knowledge of the Belgian legal system.

Mr. Korogiannakis spoke of serious misdeeds, for which, if the charges are proven, the Criminal Code provides for three to five years in prison.

On pre-trial detention

“Currently, from the information we also have from public media, the three accusations that have been made public were brought against her this afternoon. According to Belgian procedure, this pre-trial detention ordered by the investigator must be confirmed by the judicial council within 48 hours. So within these 48 hours, her defense will have access to the file that it didn’t have until now”, emphasized Nikos Korogiannakis.

“Their lawyers have access to the file only if they are remanded in custody, as happened today. Then they get access to the file for 48 hours and then the judge-investigator’s decision on pre-trial detention is confirmed or rejected by a judicial board, by people who have never seen the investigation before, never seen the papers before, and on which her lawyers address the issue,” he added.

On immunity

Regarding the issue of immunity, Mr. Korogiannakis explained that in order for the Belgian authorities to avoid it, they must arrest the MEP during the conduct of a criminal act. “By itself it means the time he commits a criminal offense, either the time he receives the bribe, because that’s what we’re talking about here, or the time he tries to conceal proceeds of crime.

We don’t know many details, but in any case, only if something like this has happened can there be a pre-trial detention decision. This is the provision contained in the Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, which expressly states that immunity cannot be invoked when there is an arrest while committing a crime. Was there really an arrest while committing a crime? I assume that her lawyers 48 hours from now, sometime on Wednesday morning, will be called upon to explain it and fight it out in front of the judges.”

On Eva Kaili’s sentence

Regarding the penalties imposed by the charges against Ms. Kaili, Mr. Korogiannakis replied that these are serious misdemeanors. “The Criminal Code provides for three to five years in prison, if these charges are proven, i.e. passive bribery – bribery, as we call it, and the establishment and participation in a criminal organization.”

Regarding the possibility of home detention, the lawyer emphasized: “It is possible, but in order to order temporary detention, a number of conditions must be met, and the accused is the one who must explain why these conditions are met in the case of house arrest.

I suppose that the most important problem for Ms. Eva Kaili and for whom temporary detention is justified is the possibility of her and her co-accused to influence and obstruct the investigation. Accordingly, I feel there is a very strong reason not to release her immediately if these allegations are true.”