A glamorous Greek politician arrested on charges of corruption in the EU Qatargate scandal has been released on bail with an electronic ankle tag.
Eva Kaili, who has vowed she will never return home to Greece until she has cleared her name, was freed from investigative custody on 14th April.
She must spend the remainder of her pre-trial detention under house arrest, media in Belgium have reported.
The 44-year-old former vice president of the European Parliament is now in her Brussels apartment with her daughter, says her lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos.
He told media in Greece on 15th April: “She wants to return to the meetings of the European Parliament, after the end of the legal proceedings.”
Also that day, Kaili herself told Greek media that she would not return to Athens until she is acquitted of corruption.
She said: “If I fail to convince the Belgian judiciary of my innocence, I will never return to my homeland.”
She added: “I will never confess that I betrayed the people who honoured me with their vote.”
Kaili was arrested in December as part of an investigation into corruption in the European Parliament.
She and three other European politicians were taken into custody on suspicion of corruption, money laundering, and membership in a criminal organisation.
During searches that month, a sum of EUR 1.5 million (GBP 1.3 million) in cash was found.
One of the suspects has pleaded guilty and is now cooperating with the authorities, while Kaili and the others deny the charges.
For several months, the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office has been conducting a major investigation into attempts by the Qatar and Morocco to influence the economic and political decision-making of the European Parliament.
Both countries are said to have paid large sums of money or offered substantial gifts to people who hold a political or strategic position within the legislative body.
Both countries deny any involvement in the case.
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Story By: William McGee, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
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