Corruption scandal: Eva Kaili’s partner, Francesco Giorgi, freed but under electronic monitoring

Francesco Giorgi, the partner of European Commission former vice president Eva Kaili, has been freed from jail but will wear an electronic bracelet.

Giorgi was charged with corruption and money laundering in an alleged bribery scandal known as Qatargate.

Francesco Giorgi is Eva Kaili’s domestic partner and one of the suspected key players in the scandal.

Giorgi began his career in the hemicycle of the European Parliament as an assistant to Pier Antonio Panzeri, a socialist MEP from Italy, and moved in 2019 to the office of Andrea Cozzolino, another Italian socialist.

Since his arrest in December, Giorgi is believed to have adopted a collaborative attitude with the Belgian authorities, sharing revealing details on how the behind-the-scenes graft developed.

According to documents obtained by Le Soir and La Repubblica, Francesco Giorgi has confessed to being part of an ‘organisation’ used by Qatar and Morocco to influence European policy-making.

The Italian assistant has tried to exonerate Kaili by accusing his former boss, Andrea Cozzolino, and Marc Tarabella of accepting cash through Panzeri’s management.

Giorgi acted as translator for Panzeri, who does not speak English, during meetings with Qatari officials that were intercepted by the Belgian police, Le Soir reported.

Kaili’s lawyer says she feels “betrayed” by her partner because Giorgi’s supposed participation in the criminal scheme turned the Greek MEP, by extension, into an accomplice.

Kaili, who is also charged in the case, remains in custody.

This story will be updated by our journalists as more information becomes available.