The Belgian Police issued an arrest warrant against Dimitris Avramopoulos, in order for him to provide explanations regarding the Qatargate case, as the former Commissioner participated in an NGO of Antonio Panzeri, a former MEP implicated in the scandal, for which Eva Kaili had been remanded in custody.
The warrant from Brussels has been forwarded to the Greek Justice system since the weekend, specifically to the Athens Court of Appeals Prosecutor’s Office.
According to euronews, the request for lifting the immunity of the former European Union Commissioner for Migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos, was forwarded from the Supreme Court Prosecutor’s Office to the Ministry of Justice and is being sent to the Greek Parliament, in order to activate the arrest warrant of the Belgian Justice system.
Dimitris Avramopoulos is called to provide explanations regarding the corruption case Qatargate through the NGO FightImpunity. The arrest warrant describes the offenses of participation in a criminal organization and money laundering from criminal activity.
According to information, the former Commissioner is charged with participation in a criminal organization, with the Authorities linking the case to a financial benefit of approximately 73,000 euros.
Politico: He did not testify to the Belgian authorities
“The Qatargate scandal broke out in December 2022 – after Avramopoulos left the Commission – when the Belgian police began a series of raids on properties and offices in Brussels, arrested key suspects and seized bags of cash in one of the largest corruption investigations to hit the EU. The main allegations are that suspects linked to the European Parliament received money or gifts in exchange for carrying out Qatar’s orders,” explains Politico.
It then cites two senior Greek officials who participated in the judicial process and spoke on condition of anonymity:
“The former commissioner is accused of participation in a criminal organization, with the authorities linking the case to the income he received from a non-governmental organization at the center of the scandal,” one of the senior Greek officials stated.
In fact, according to the same sources, the Belgian authorities called Mr. Avramopoulos to come for testimony last year, but he did not appear.
In a small citizen survey we conducted, they stated that there should be no parliamentary immunity in Greece and ALL citizens should be equal before the law.
