She is a supermodel (tall, blonde, with slanted blue eyes) who is associated with billionaires leading the aerospace industry, such as British Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Galactic. Political elite..Eva Kylie had the world at her feet. Today, it’s on everyone’s lips, but not for the best reasons. He was arrested early on suspicion of receiving money from Qatar for praising the country’s labor reforms, and has already fallen from the Greek Socialist Party as vice-president of the European Parliament in what is considered one of the biggest corruption scandals in Brussels. Pedestal at the peak of life.
Born in the Greek port city of Thessaloniki and bathed in the Aegean Sea, Eva Kaili entered politics at a very young age, joining the partisan youth of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement known as PASOK at the age of 14.
At university, he graduated in architecture and civil engineering before moving to the Greek capital, Athens, to study for a master’s in international and European affairs. He began an unfinished PhD in international economic policy.
At the age of 24, he was elected as the youngest councilor to the Thessaloniki City Council, and soon after, in 2007, he was elected to the Greek Parliament as the National Vice President.
Before that, he had a brief stint in television, as a news anchor and journalist for the Greek channel MEGA, which earned him his commitment as a political figure in Greece. The Spanish magazine Informalia describes her media power in Greece as follows: “Eva Kylie is very popular in her country, where she is a presenter, a kind of Queen Letizia, who, instead of marrying the heir to the crown, entered politics.”
His tenure in the Greek parliament has also been uncontroversial, as happened in 2011 when he refused to back Socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou in a key confidence vote during Greece’s financial crisis, rising against the positions of his party peers. . Kylie changed her mind and Papandreou survived the power.
In 2014, he advanced to the European Parliament, where he joined the bench of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), a European political group that also includes the Portuguese Socialist Party.
As an MEP, he stood out in the field of digital policies in the European bloc, chairing committees linked to innovation and technology during the years when European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager waged war against the tech giants. Kylie has focused mainly on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and blockchain technologies (the technology that underlies cryptocurrencies). He also worked with his sister on a think tank focused on the impact of laws on new technologies.
As one of the few Greek women in a prominent European position, Kylie received wide support in the press, which devoted long profiles to her. In 2011, the German publication Der Spiegel named him its Personality of the Year. In 2018, Politico recognized her as one of the “Most Influential Women in Brussels”. In the same year, he received the Best Member of the European Parliament award in the New Technologies category by The Parliament Magazine.
In 2020, she met her boyfriend Francesco Giorgi, 35, an Italian parliamentary adviser, experienced in the field of international relations and human rights and founder of the NGO Fight Impunity. In February 2021, the couple had a daughter. Giorgi also worked as a sailing instructor, documenting part of his luxury life on his Instagram profile, which includes photos of him sailing in Sardinia, skiing in the Alps or business trips in Doha.
No one could have predicted the downfall of what is considered one of the most influential couples in the European Parliament. About a month ago, Gaili surprised Europe by defending Qatar, considering the country “proof of how sports diplomacy can achieve historic change in a country with reforms that inspire the Arab world.” And he went further: “I say myself that Qatar is a leader in labor rights”.
Last Friday, these words took on new meaning and questionable connotations, when the former vice-president of the European Parliament was arrested as part of an investigation into organized crime, corruption and money laundering linked to lobbying in favor of Qatar. The arrest occurred while the World Cup football tournament was being held in the country, raising doubts about the country’s hosting of the tournament.
Suspected of crimes such as money laundering, corruption and participation in a criminal organization, the MEP cannot benefit from his parliamentary immunity because he was caught in a “fundamental delicto,” according to Belgian authorities. However, she would not have acted alone: behind her was a network that included members of her family, her father or her Italian boyfriend, who was a parliamentary adviser in the same body of the European Union as her partner. It assumed higher functions from January this year.
Besides Kylie, Francesco Giorgi was also arrested. Eva’s father, Alexandros Kylis, was also on the list of prisoners, although he was later released, unlike his daughter and son-in-law.
Everything points to Giorgi being the head of a network that collected bribes in exchange for a move to clean up Qatar’s image in Brussels – something officials in the soccer World Cup host country flatly deny. Eva’s partner, former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, was also very close and was arrested. This is where the family webs thicken: Panzeri’s wife, Maria Colleoni, was also arrested in Italy, as was the couple’s daughter, Silvia Panzeri, both in connection with the execution of a European arrest warrant.
Following raids by Belgian authorities, more than 1.5 million euros were found in the homes of Eva Kylie and Pierre Antonio Panzeri. The MEP’s father, a mechanical engineer who held a key position in the public administration (he was the former director general of transport and communications in the Central Macedonia region), was caught in the act by the authorities last Friday. Alexandros Kylis was arrested as he prepared to flee to Greece. He had a suitcase with 600,000 euros allegedly from a corruption scheme involving his daughter.
Other sums were found following raids on houses and offices in Hemicycle and in the building housing the representatives’ offices in Strasbourg. According to Euronews, Belgian police found another 150,000 euros in an apartment owned by an MEP in the Belgian capital.
The Greek Anti-Money Laundering Authority ordered the confiscation of assets (real estate, bank accounts, companies) of Eva Kylie’s immediate family members in the country, with the justification that they may be the result of illegal activities.
Annual statements of assets submitted by Eva Kaili and available on the website of the Greek Parliament show that bank deposits have doubled in two years. In her 2019 report, referring to the 2018 fiscal year, Eva Kylie declared her net worth of 550 thousand euros (more than half of which came from selling a house in the suburbs of Athens) and her bank deposits of 210 thousand euros. Mostly deposited in a Belgian bank.
A year later (fiscal year 2019), their deposits almost doubled to 405 thousand euros, although their reported income decreased during that period (219 thousand euros). That year, he also announced the purchase of an apartment in the Psijicó district of Athens for 270,000 euros.
In 2020, the deposits declared by the Greek MEP continued to rise and reached 461,846 euros, although his income decreased again (164 thousand euros).
The 44-year-old socialist was relieved of her duties by Maltese Roberta Metzola, the president of the European Parliament, after learning of her arrest at the weekend. The decision was approved with 625 votes in favor, one against, and two abstentions, representing a double majority of two-thirds. For now, he will retain his MEP status, as it will only be revoked by Greece.
Contrary to expectations, Eva Kylie did not appear before a judge on Wednesday and will remain in custody until at least next Thursday, December 22, due to a Belgian prison strike. Until now, he says he is innocent and has not been paid to push a pro-Qatar agenda within the EU.
“It has nothing to do with Qatar’s funding, obviously and unequivocally nothing. That is her position,” her lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, said this week. As for Alexandros Kylis, who was arrested while trying to flee with bags full of money, the prosecutor made it clear that the Belgian authorities did not impose restrictions on him and that “he could return to Greece” if he wanted to.
Politico’s daily newsletter also features new developments on the case. According to an extradition request accessed by the newspaper, investigations now also point to Morocco, where former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri has received a ‘huge’ amount of money and gifts to support the Arab country. According to the documents, cited by Politico, prosecutors say the origin of the money transferred to the Italian politician was Abdelrahim Atmoun, Morocco’s ambassador to Poland.