Belgium Targets Former EU Commissioner in Qatargate Probe

A Belgian judge has issued a European arrest warrant for former Greek European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos in connection with the Qatargate corruption investigation.

The development was confirmed by a Greek government official following reports in Belgian and Greek media.

The case, which emerged in 2022, is among the biggest corruption scandals in the history of the European Union. Several current and former EU officials are suspected of accepting bribes from Qatar in exchange for influencing decisions within European institutions.

During raids linked to the investigation, authorities seized €1.5m ($1.7m) in cash. Part of the money was reportedly discovered in a suitcase at a hotel in Brussels.

Avramopoulos has denied any wrongdoing.

“There was no direct or indirect involvement of mine in anything reprehensible”, he said in a statement.

The former commissioner also said he would not seek to invoke parliamentary immunity and would instead ask the Greek judicial authorities to conduct a full investigation into the allegations.

After leaving the European Commission, Avramopoulos worked for the NGO Fight Impunity, an organization that has been linked to the Qatargate investigation.

Qatar has consistently denied allegations that it sought to influence EU officials through bribery.

(reuters, bak)